Adult Congenital Heart Disease (ACHD)
Information alert box Echocardiogram provision
It may not be possible to offer you an Echocardiogram on the same day as your cardiology consultation. Please contact us if you wish to discuss this.
The Adult Congenital Heart Disease service cares for patients born with an abnormality of the heart.
The ACHD Team at Oxford University Hospitals has specialist skills in all areas of ACHD, and delivers expert care at the Oxford Heart Centre to patients with complex heart disease.
Our patients are either new to the service, or transfer to us from Paediatric Cardiology.
We provide specialist outpatient clinics in Oxford, as well as inpatient care for ACHD patients on the wards.
We also run outreach clinics at several locations, including:
- Royal Berkshire Hospital, Reading
- Great Western Hospital, Swindon
- Northampton General Hospital
- Milton Keynes General Hospital
- St Helier Hospital, Jersey.
We contribute to clinics in:
- Pulmonary Hypertension
- maternal cardiologydisease of the aorta including Marfan syndrome (see link)
- Turners syndrome
and a transition clinic for child patients moving to the adult service.
We work closely with the Inherited Heart Muscle Disease Clinic and Cardiac Geneticists.
All complex congenital surgery and intervention is undertaken in Southampton. We are part of the Thames Valley and Wessex Congenital Heart Disease Network:
Thames Valley and Wessex Congenital Heart Disease Network
Our team
Consultants
- Dr Elizabeth Orchard (Clinical Lead)
Consultant Cardiologist
- Dr Joanna Lim
Consultant Cardiologist
- Dr David Sprigings
Consultant Cardiologist
- Dr Katie Francis
Consultant Cardiologist
Specialist Nurses
- Emma Weingart
Advanced Nurse Practitioner and Lead Nurse
- Angela Austen
Specialist Nurse Practitioner
- Cyntha Okpala
Specialist Nurse Practitioner
Congenital Imaging Consultants
- Dr Myerson
- Dr Kelion
- Dr Newton
Administration
- Panagiota Florou
- Vanessa Clarke
- Abigail Connolly
What to expect
Your first visit
On arrival at Oxford Heart Centre, please check in at Reception.
A nurse will take some observations, including your pulse, blood pressure (BP) and oxygen saturations.
You may have some tests, including an ECG and an Echocardiogram, and then see one of the doctors.
(It may not be possible to offer you an Echocardiogram on the same day as your cardiology consultation. Please contact us if you wish to discuss this.)
The doctors will talk to you and examine you, and then discuss your diagnosis and any treatment that may be required.
The discussion will cover important life issues, such as work, travel, physical activity and pregnancy - please ask as many questions as you want.
Other tests that may be required include:
Related clinics
Oxford University Hospitals runs other specialist clinics with a strong focus on ACHD.
Maternal Cardiology
Fortnightly at the John Radcliffe Hospital Women's Centre, providing care for pregnant women with heart disease.
The team includes:
- Dr Elizabeth Orchard (cardiology)
- Miss Catherine Greenwood (obstetrics)
- Dr Lucy Mackillop (obstetric medicine)
- Dr Lauren Green, (obstetrics)
- Dr Ruth Curry (obstetrics)
- Dr Anika Smith (obstetric anaesthetics)
Pulmonary Hypertension.
This clinic runs monthly and is part of a regional specialised service, in combination with the Royal Brompton Hospital.
Specialist aortic clinics
These clinics are for patients with diseases of the aorta including Marfan syndrome, Loeys Dietz syndrome and coarctation of the aorta.
The team includes:
- Dr Alex Pitcher
- Dr Ed Blair (clinical geneticist)
- Professor Tonia Vincent
Contact us
ACHD Specialist Nurses
Email: ACHD&PHT.Nurse@ouh.nhs.uk
Tel: 01865 740412 Monday to Friday 8.00am - 4.00pm
ACHD Administration Team
Email: ouh-tr.achdteamadmin@nhs.net
Tel: 01865 221322
Links
Investigations
Our wards
Please visit 'Inpatients'
Easy Read
Easy Read Patient Leaflets for you
University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust
Adult congenital cardiac services - uhs.nhs.uk
Last reviewed:14 March 2023