Brian Halliday

Brian is a distinguished consultant cardiologist at Royal Brompton and Harefield hospitals and a clinical associate professor and British Heart Foundation (BHF) intermediate fellow at the National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College, London.

Brian carries out research into inherited heart conditions such as dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), a lifelong disease where the heart muscle becomes thin and floppy with a risk of heart failure. His research interests focus on improving the treatment of patients at different stages of this disease.

In 2016, Brian designed and conducted a BHF funded ‘therapy withdrawal’ (TRED-HF) trial which monitored the results of reducing medication for 51 patients over six months. He presented the results at the American Heart Association meeting in 2018 showing that it is not advisable to withdraw medication in many people with DCM, even those with no symptoms.

As part of a BHF intermediate fellowship, Brian has received funding for follow-on trials in patients with recovered dilated cardiomyopathy and to trial an antioxidant (MitoQ) for persistent dilated cardiomyopathy. Using MRI technology, he will reveal if a patient’s heart is inefficient at using and producing energy. If this hypothesis is proved, it could help find new targeted therapies in the future.