Mark Wilson

I qualified as a radiographer in 1998 and have spent my whole career based at Birmingham Heartlands Hospital. Over the years I have had the opportunity to undertake a range of post graduate training including appendicular reporting and non-medical prescribing.

I first started working in the Cardiac Catheter suite as a rotating senior radiographer and found the work fascinating. When, 14 years ago, the opportunity to specialise in cardiology presented itself I jumped at the chance.

This was at a time when this hospital was amongst the first in the country to adopt 24/7 primary PCI. This is rapidly deployed treatment of acutely blocked coronary arteries that limits long term damage to the heart muscle and improves patient outcomes. To see the dramatic improvement of the patient’s condition from when they enter the lab to when they leave is what brings me a great deal of job satisfaction.

During my time in cardiology, I have seen a huge number of developments to the technology at our disposal to treat heart disease. From massive developments in the range of imaging modalities available for assessment through to the evolution of stents from bare metal through to bio-resorbable scaffolds.