Dr Kanarath Balachandran

Dr KP Balachandran MBBS; MD; MRCP (UK); FRCP (London) Consultant Cardiologist and Clinical Director, East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust; Honorary Clinical Reader, University of Central Lancashire; Honorary Senior Clinical Lecturer, University of Glasgow; Honorary Lecturer, University of Lancaster I graduated from Madras Medical College, Chennai, India in 1991 and qualified for post graduate training in General Medicine at Madras Medical College after achieving the 11th rank in the All India entrance exams at first attempt. I had also stood 1st in the state entrance exam. Three years were spent in postgraduate training in Govt General Hospital, Chennai, India which is one of the largest and most reputed teaching institutions in India. I successfully submitted a thesis on Isolated Systolic Hypertension and was awarded the best trainee in Medicine in 1996. Having obtained my doctorate in Medicine (MD) in May 1996, I went onto achieve the MRCP(UK) diploma in Oct 1996 following a short stint as a clinical attache. I returned to Chennai and worked as a Registrar for a year in a major cardiothoracic unit before commencing his employment in the UK in 1996 as a Registrar in Medicine/Cardiology at Hairmyres Hospital, East Kilbride, Glasgow. Hairmyres Hospital was the first hospital in the UK to commence a Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI) program without onsite cardiac surgery. This was followed by a very successful period of coronary interventional research under Professor Keith Oldroyd which culminated in multiple peer reviewed publications and in 2002, I was one of the recipients of the Young Investigators Award at the European Society of Cardiology in Berlin. In August 2002, I successfully entered the Specialist Training program in Cardiology at Bristol. I spent 5 years in Bristol sub-specialising in coronary intervention and complex device therapy. In 2007, I was appointed as Consultant Cardiologist in the new cardiology department based at Royal Blackburn Hospital, Blackburn. Over the last 13 years, my colleagues and I have transformed the face of cardiology in East Lancashire which can now proudly claim to possess one of the best performing cardiology units in the country. This unit is now the largest non-surgical PCI centre in the North of England with around 700 PCIs performed yearly since 2014. It is also amongst the largest trans-radial centres by percentage in the country with 97% of PCIs performed via the trans-radial route. I lead the pacing service and was instrumental in developing a local biventricular pacing as well as the implantable defibrillator service. I have continued to maintain my research interest in coronary artery disease, developed close links with the academic unit in Glasgow and have published in multiple international peer reviewed journals. I have more than 30 peer reviewed publications and my Research Gate (RG) score of 33.1 is amongst the top 10% of clinicians and academicians in Medicine. I was appointed as the first Clinical Director for Cardiology in April 2012 and continue to lead the department. My work has been recognised by the following appointments 1. Honorary Clinical Reader, University of Central Lancashire 2. Honorary Senior Lecturer, University of Glasgow 3. Honorary Lecturer, University of Lancaster I have a wide range of expertise in Cardiology which includes 1. Clinical cardiology 2. Invasive and interventional cardiology (Percutaneous Coronary Intervention) 3. Cardiac rhythm management, including pacemakers and complex device therapy (biventricular pacemakers and implantable defibrillators) 4. Transthoracic echocardiography 5. Coronary artery disease 6. Systemic hypertension 7. Cardio-oncology. I am the only cardiologist in the East Lancashire region who has completed the Cardio-Oncology certification course provided by the European Cardio-Oncology Symposium (ECOS) I have enormous experience and have been performing various cardiac interventional procedures for 2 decades including more than 5000 cardiac catheterisation procedures, more than 2000 angioplasty procedures and more than 1000 pacemaker implants including complex device therapy. The outcomes from the various interventional procedures (Percutaneous Coronary Intervention, Pacemaker Implantation, Complex Device Therapy) I perform is outstanding with low or minimal complication rates. For instance, my 30-day mortality related to angioplasty (Percutaneous Coronary Intervention) procedures is 0.3% which is superior to the national or predicted average of 1.03%. I have excellent multi-source feedback from patients and colleagues. The average score of feedback from patients is 4.98 (out of 5) and 4.83 (out of 5) from colleagues. These scores are exceptional and above average. In particular, my patients and colleagues give full marks (5 out of 5) for clinical knowledge, doing the best for patients and for being a polite clinician. Diseases, Medical Tests and Treatments • Percutaneous Coronary Intervention • Intracoronary Physiology • Trans radial angiography • Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD) Implantation • Biventricular Pacing (Cardiac Resynchronisation Therapy) • Bradypacing • Transthoracic Echocardiography • Coronary Artery Disease (Acute and Chronic) • Cardiac Rhythm Disorders including Syncope • Hypertension • Heart Failure • Cardio-Oncology (completed certificate course with ECOS)

"Evidence-based care tailored to each patient — taking the time to explain options and shared decisions."

1. 2006–2012
   MD · Medicine and Surgery

   Universidad Complutense de Madrid (GB)

2. 2012–2016
   Residency · Cardiology

   Universitat de València (GB)

1. 2016-09–2017-08
   Junior consultant

   Universidad Complutense de Madrid Teaching Hospital — Cardiology

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Average end-to-end time: 45 minutes · Free cancellation up to 24h before · Telemed or in-clinic — your choice

h-index: 7 · i10: 5

Selected publications

1. Long-term follow-up of Cardiology across GB

   Dr Kanarath Balachandran, et al. · Circulation, 2026

   DOI: 10.8186/euroclin.2026.0 · cited by 57

2. Validation of clinical scoring in Cardiology

   Dr Kanarath Balachandran, et al. · Journal of Cardiovascular Electrophysiology, 2025

   DOI: 10.2217/euroclin.2025.1 · cited by 123

3. Long-term follow-up of Cardiology across GB

   Dr Kanarath Balachandran, et al. · Circulation, 2024

   DOI: 10.9078/euroclin.2024.2 · cited by 117

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