Summary
David Wood is the Garfield Weston Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine at the International Centre for Circulatory Health, National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, and Honorary Consultant Cardiologist to Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust.
With a special interest in prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD), Professor Wood has developed Guidelines on CVD prevention for the World Health Organisation, European Society of Cardiology and the British Cardiovascular Society. He has contributed to policy development through the European Heart Health Initiative, leading to the St Valentines Day declaration on CVD Prevention, and subsequently the European Heart Health Charter, which aims to reduce the burden of cardiovascular disease through political advocacy.
As principal investigator for the EUROASPIRE surveys he has described the changing practice of preventive cardiology across Europe. This led to the concept of the EUROACTION trials – evaluating the effectiveness and cost effectiveness of nurse-led, multidisciplinary cardiovascular prevention programmes in hospital and general practice across Europe - which have raised standards of preventive care. The principles of EUROACTION were subsequently embodied in the MYACTION preventive cardiology model now being delivered in the NHS.
He is the Course Director for the MSc in Preventive Cardiology – Cardiovascular Health and Disease Prevention – launched in 2008. The course provides multidisciplinary postgraduate training in the principles and practice of cardiovascular disease prevention. Short courses in preventive cardiology are also delivered elsewhere in the UK, Saudi Arabia and China.
He founded the European Journal of Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation, now called The European Journal of Preventive Cardiology and was Joint Editor in Chief (2002-2008). He was a founding father and President (2006-2012) of the European Association for Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation, a sub-speciality Association of the European Society of Cardiology. In this capacity he served as an ESC Board member (2008-2010). He was then elected as Secretary/Treasurer of the Society (2010-2012) and served on the Management Group and Board. He chaired the ESC Training and Research Grants Committee awarding annual grants to young cardiologists to further their clinical and academic careers. He is the Principal Investigator for Cardioscape (www.cardioscape.eu), a European Commission funded project through the European Society of Cardiology which is surveying and categorising cardiovascular research funding across Europe to inform investigators, funding bodies and the Commission. He is Chairman of the EACPR Reach Out Task Force of the European Association for Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation which is seeking to build a Global Alliance for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention in Clinical Practice in collaboration with the World Heart Federation and other professional organisations focussed on preventive and rehabilitative care. He is an advisor to WHO on new Guidelines for Screening for Cardiovascular Disease and Diabetes.
In 2014 he was elected as President Elect of the World Heart Federation and takes up his appointment on January 1st 2015 for a six year term. The mission of the WHF is cardiovascular prevention. The constituency is national societies of cardiology and heart foundations around the world. The headquarters are in Geneva, Swizterland. www.world-heart-federation.org
Selected Publications
Journal Articles
Connolly S, Holden A, Turner E, et al., 2011, MyAction: an innovative approach to the prevention of cardiovascular disease in the community, British Journal of Cardiology, Vol:18, Pages:171-176