Dr. Amal John

After completion of his general cardiology training in Sofia, Bulgaria, Dr. Amal John moved to the U.K to complete a two year fellowship training programme in advanced cardiac imaging. He trained in cardiovascular MRI, CT coronary angiography, and stress echo in University Hospital Southampton and The Rotherham Foundation Trust. Thereafter, he joined University Hospital Waterford as an Integrated Care Consultant Cardiologist.

Since his appointment in Waterford, Dr. John has worked closely with the cardiac investigations team in writing new guidelines for stress echo, transthoracic echo, and performing 3D trans-oesophageal echo and CT coronary angiograms. Dr. John also leads the Cardiology Hub in Waterford where he manages complex heart failure and atrial fibrillation patients. He leads the Heart Failure team at University Hospital Waterford (UHW) and works closely with the Heart Failure nursing team in UHW, Waterford PCC, and Dungarvan PCC.

At UPMC Whitfield Hospital, Dr. John has started the CT Coronary Angiogram (CTCA) service which is the first of its kind in the South East. This non-invasive procedure, previously only available in Dublin and Cork, marks a considerable improvement to patient care in the South East. He also sees patients in the outpatient setting and performs advanced cardiac imaging such as 3D trans-oesophageal echocardiogram (3D TOE). The CTCA is a non-invasive test that allows us to look into the heart arteries in more detail. It involves lying in a CT scanner, and having a special dye injected into a vein in the arm through a cannula. The dye reaches the heart and the CT machine produces X-rays that pass through the body, which the dye then reflects. This allows us to tell if there is any significant furring-up (atheroma) in the heart arteries.

Dr. John has been first and co-author on multiple scientific publications in highly reputed cardiology and medical journals. He has also presented at national and international scientific meetings. He has a post graduate diploma in heart failure in London (PCHF).

Special Interests:

• General cardiology
• Heart failure
• Advanced cardiac imaging, including 3-D TOE, cardiac MRI and CT coronary angiography • Arrhythmia management, loop monitoring device insertion
• Heart valve disease management
• Coronary artery disease