HOT TOPICS IN CORONARY PHYSIOLOGY - discussion

Prof Javier Escaned is Head of Section (Interventional Cardiology Section) at Hospital Clinico San Carlos / Complutense University (Madrid, Spain). He trained in the United Kingdom as Specialist in Cardiology and obtained his PhD in The Netherlands. Author of >600 indexed scientific articles on interventional cardiology, imaging and physiology (h-index 74) and over 30 years of experience as PCI operator, he regularly lectures and performs live cases at major scientific and educational meetings. He is a recipient of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Silver Medal and the Andreas Grüntzig Award for his contributions to the fiedl fo Interventional Cardiology. Main areas of expertise include complex PCI, intracoronary diagnostics and functional coronary angiography. His track record in coronary physiology comprises being investigator on pioneer FFR trials like DEFER (1998), collaborator with Justin Davies in the validation and clinical implementation of iFR, and developer of new tools for the assessment of coronary microcirculation. Editorial roles include Deputy Editor EHJ, Advisory Editor Eurointervention, editor of the textbooks “Coronary Stenosis: Imaging, Structure and Physiology” and “Physiological Assessment of Coronary Stenoses and the Microcirculation". Recent board positions include EAPCI board / Education Committee Chair, ESC WG Coronary Pathophysiology and Microcirculation, EuroCTO Board. Recent trials as Principal Investigator include ADVISE II, DEFINE FLAIR, SYNTAX II, PIONEER IV, Cerebral-Coronary-Connection (C3), DCR4Contrast, INOCA LongCovid and AID ANGIO. Additional interests are philosophy and music.

Ranil de Silva is Senior Lecturer in Clinical Cardiology at the National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London and Consultant Interventional Cardiologist at the Royal Brompton Hospital, London, UK. He obtained his medical degree from King’s College London and undertook his PhD in PET imaging at the MRC Cyclotron Unit under Attilio Maseri. His post-doctoral research was at the National Institutes of Health, USA working on MRI guided endovascular intervention and cardiovascular regenerative medicine. His research focuses on imaging to guide the diagnosis, risk stratification and evaluation of novel therapies for patients with acute and chronic coronary syndromes. He leads translational interdisciplinary research programs on coronary atherosclerotic plaque biomechanics evaluated by fluid-structure interaction modelling, post-myocardial infarction left ventricular remodelling using diffusion tensor cardiovascular magnetic resonance, and coronary sinus reducer for treating coronary microvascular dysfunction. He has published more than 100 peer reviewed articles, including Circulation, European Heart Journal, JACC, Nature journals, Lancet and NEJM. He has an h-index 43. He leads the Specialist Angina Service at the Royal Brompton Hospital, which is a nationally recognised service for patients with refractory angina. He is an interventional cardiologist undertaking complex interventional procedures, coronary sinus reduction, LV support and the full range of intracoronary imaging and physiology techniques. He also has an interest in resistant hypertension and has experience in renal denervation.

Dr Rasha Al-Lamee is an Interventional Cardiology Consultant at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust in London, UK. Dr Al-Lamee’s research interests are complex coronary intervention, coronary physiology and invasive intravascular assessment. She designed, conducted and led the ORBITA trial and is the lead author of the primary publication in The Lancet. At Imperial College, she is actively involved in the development and recruitment for a number of multi-centre clinical trials. Dr Al- Lamee has over 40 peer-reviewed publications and has presented at international Cardiology conferences worldwide throughout her clinical career. She studied at the University of Oxford and University College London. She went onto complete her training as a junior doctor on the Barts and the London Medical rotation before being appointed as a Specialist Registrar on the North West London Cardiology rotation in 2006. Dr Al-Lamee has twelve years of Cardiology experience and completed three years of Interventional Fellowship training at Hammersmith Hospital in London. She also spent a year training as an Interventional Fellow under the supervision of Professor Antonio Colombo in Milan. She completed specialist training in Cardiology in 2013.