Dr Kumar is an experienced Consultant Cardiologist with a special interest in the diagnosis and management of chest pain, breathlessness, palpitations, and cardiovascular risk factors (such as high blood pressure and cholesterol). He has particular expertise in coronary heart disease and coronary intervention (angioplasty / stenting).

He graduated with honours in 1996 from St Bartholomew’s Hospital Medical School, University of London, with prizes and awards for research and clinical medicine, before completing his cardiology training in London. He underwent training in Interventional Cardiology at The Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Trust.

Qualifications

BSc (Anatomy), Queen Mary & Westfield College, University of London – 1993
PhD, Imperial College, London – 2010

Dr Kumar was awarded the degree of Doctor of Philosophy by Imperial College London after completing original research in the field of myocardial stunning, and has published articles in peer-reviewed journals on a range of interventional and general cardiology subjects.

Research

He has invested substantial time and effort over many years to improve and modernise NHS Cardiology services, both in Croydon and South London. During several years as Clinical Lead at Croydon Health Services NHS Trust, he has introduced specialist cardiology outpatient clinics, GP advice and guidance services, and modernised Chest Pain assessment pathways. He wrote the Trust Guidelines on management of heart attacks, and also many of the Trust’s special operational procedures to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic. As chair of the Chest Pain Working Group of the South London Cardiac Network, he has co-authored similar work around Chest Pain pathways, which have been adopted throughout the region.

Practice

He has worked as a full-time Consultant Interventional Cardiologist at Croydon Health Services NHS Trust and Kings College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust since 2010, treating many diverse patients from London, Surrey and Kent. He is happy to see both self-pay and insured patients, either with or without a dedicated referral letter. Dr Kumar retains a broad perspective on patients’ symptoms, considering both heart-related and non-cardiac causes.

His priority is always to exclude the most serious conditions first, and understand symptoms in a patient’s individual circumstances. Dr Kumar’s current NHS clinical activities include outpatient clinics in General Adult Cardiology, Rapid Access Chest Pain Assessment, and Cardiovascular Risk Reduction (primarily helping patients with high cholesterol and high blood pressure).

He is currently the Lead Clinician for both Interventional Cardiology (coronary angiograms / angioplasty / stenting) and Cardiovascular Risk Reduction at Croydon Health Services NHS Trust. He has for many years also been the highest volume operator for angioplasty / stenting at the Trust. Dr Kumar also performs such routine and emergency procedures at Kings College Hospital, one of the busiest heart attack centres in the country.

Training

He actively participates in clinical discussions at both regional and local multi-disciplinary team meetings on a weekly basis, primarily for patients with coronary heart disease. He values the opportunity this affords to both offer advice to colleagues and learn from colleagues with different experiences, in order to provide the best possible care for heart patients. Dr Kumar continues to enjoy training the next generation of Cardiologists. He achieves this through his role as a Cardiology Specialty Trainee Educational Supervisor, and through his membership of the Kings Faculty Group, overseeing the training of all budding South London Cardiologists.

Patient feedback

Dr Kumar is an approachable doctor, who takes pride in ensuring his patients are fully informed, are fully involved in treatment decisions, and receive personalised high quality care. Unsolicited informal feedback from his patients has highlighted his “diligence and hard work in assessing and diagnosing my health in an efficiently professional and holistic way”, and describe him as “polite, kind, compassionate + reassuring and put me at ease”. Colleagues have particular respect for his clinical knowledge, diagnosis and decision-making.

Personal

Dr Kumar is married to a local GP and has two adult daughters. Outside of work, he likes to play football and tennis, and follows Tottenham Hotspur FC and Harlequins rugby club. He is a tech enthusiast, and enjoys dabbling in fixing things such as computer components.

• Assessment and treatment of chest pain
• Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (angioplasty and stenting)
• Assessment of Cardiovascular Risk, including Hypertension (high blood pressure) and Dyslipidaemia (high cholesterol)

• British Cardiovascular Society
• British Cardiovascular Intervention Society
• European Society of Cardiology
• Royal College of Physicians