Dr Marco Spartera
Qualifications
MD, DPhil (Oxon)
GMC number: 7570461
Practising since: 2011
Specialties
Cardiology, Cardiothoracic Surgery
Consultation times
- Wednesday starting 01:30PM
- Overview
About
Dr Spartera is an NHS consultant cardiologist running a busy clinical service. He is also the director of Oxford Cardiovascular Health (OCH) which provides private cardiology services in Wiltshire, Oxfordshire, and the Cotswolds. OCH's mission is not only to deliver evidence-based management of specific symptoms but to delve into their root cause in order to maintain the best possible cardiovascular health. Dr Spartera’s knowledge and dedication have positioned him as an emerging figure in the management of several conditions including chest pain, angina, shortness of breath, dizziness, palpitations, atrial fibrillation, valve disease, diabetic hypertensive heart, and post-stroke cardiology.
Dr Spartera is hyper-specialised in cardiac imaging with a particular focus on cardiovascular MRI, cardiac CT, and advanced echocardiography (trans-oesophageal, bubble, contrast, 3D, and stress echocardiography); he resorts to different modalities to tease out the root causes of symptoms and to finalise diagnoses and plans. Dr Spartera routinely sees challenging cases in the acute cardiac unit and in clinics presenting an intricate mix of symptoms where a unifying cause is not apparent even after multiple medical reviews elsewhere. He is committed to delivering a clear cardiology plan in a compassionate and holistic fashion whilst tailoring decisions to each person’s needs and values.
Special interests
- Leaky and/or narrow heart valve (Dr Spartera assesses whether the valve needs a keyhole procedure or cardiac surgery or whether it needs specific tablets)
- Breathlessness or dizziness (Dr Spartera assesses whether these symptoms come from the heart or are due to other organ’s dysfunctions such as the lungs or brain)
Obesity-related cardiovascular health (Dr Spartera assesses the damages of obesity on the heart and makes plan to curb them as well as for prevention) - Effects of diabetes, high cholesterol, or hypertension on the heart - Blood clots, cardioembolic stroke, TIA, or systemic embolism (Dr Spartera works out the causes behind symptoms and arranges specific medications or interventions including PFO closure etc.)
Any general cardiology queries (Dr Spartera looks after patients struggling to find a diagnosis for their problems in acute cardiac unit, general cardiology ward, and outpatient clinics on a weekly basis) - Palpitations and atrial fibrillation (Dr Spartera works out the causes behind palpitations and arranges medications or interventions to tackle to root cause of the problem)
Personal interests
Dr Spartera is an active member of the local community in Oxford East where he lives. He can often be found going for long walks with his young family around Headington Hill Park and Doris Field Memorial Park. He is always happy to stop for a chat!
Languages spoken
English, Italian
Treatments and tests offered by Dr Marco Spartera at Nuffield Health
- Blood test
- Echocardiogram
- Electrocardiogram (ECG)
- Aortic stent grafts
- Implantable cardioverter defibrillator and cardiac resynchronisation therapy
- Cardiovascular risk profile
- Angioplasty
- Transthoracic echocardiogram (TTE)
- Drug therapy
- Zio® XT Cardiac Monitor
- DVLA Testing and Driving Risk Profile
- CT scan (or CAT scan)
- CT calcium scoring (or cardiac calcium scoring)
- Pacemakers
- Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM)
- Event monitor
- Assessment of all Aspects of Cardiology
- Cardiac electrophysiology study and catheter ablation
- MRI scan
- Aortic aneurysm repair
- Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG)
- Mitral valve balloon dilation
- Coronary Angioplasty (Percutaneous Coronary Intervention or PCI)
Locations Dr Marco Spartera works with
Related experience
Research
Dr Spartera undertakes research in the Radcliffe Department of Medicine, University of Oxford where he completed his PhD studies, funded by NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre. He also received support grants by the British Heart Foundation (BHF) and the Italian Society of Cardiology (SIC) to fund his research. He is an international expert in multi-modality cardiovascular imaging and diagnosis of complex cardiac conditions including sources of ischaemic stroke, obesity-related conditions, medical/causal management of atrial fibrillation, valvular heart disease, and heart failure. His research is focused on studying abnormalities of the cardiac flow which led to the discovery of novel mechanisms of cardioembolism (clots leaving the heart to block the systemic circulation), valvular disease (leaky/sticky valves) and heart failure (reduced pump function and rigidity). Dr. Spartera is also one of the investigators of the LOSE-AF trial (NCT03713775) at the John Radcliffe Hospital, a Randomized Controlled Trial to investigate whether in older overweight/obese patients with Atrial Fibrillation (AF) weight loss can improve AF outcomes and physical performance as compared to usual care. Dr Spartera has been awarded prestigious research prizes and awards, including the Young Investigator Award in Imaging of the European Society of Cardiology.
A list of Dr Spartera’s full-length scientific publications can be viewed here:
https://www.rdm.ox.ac.uk/people/marco-spartera
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=Spartera+Marco
Memberships
- European Society of Cardiology (ESC)
- General Medical Council (GMC)
- Ordine dei medici di Milano (OMCeO, Italy)
Other posts held
- Consultant Cardiologist at John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
- Consultant Cardiologist at OCMR, Radcliffe Department of Medicine, University of Oxford
- Consultant Cardiologist at the Great Western Hospital NHS Foundation Trus
Insurers Dr Marco Spartera works with
Dr Marco Spartera works with the following private medical insurance providers:
- Aetna
- Allianz
- APRIL
- Aviva Health
- AXA Health
- AXA - Global Healthcare
- Bupa
- Bupa Global
- Cigna International
- Exeter Family Friendly
- Healix
- Healthcare RM
- Health-on-Line
- PHC
- Police Mutual
- The Exeter Friendly
- Vitality Health (Pru Health)
- WPA
- Westfield Health WPA
Declaration
Dr Marco Spartera does not hold a share or financial interest in this hospital, another Nuffield Health hospital or the company.
Dr Marco Spartera does not have a share or financial interest in equipment used at this hospital or another Nuffield Health hospital.
Dr Marco Spartera does not hold any paid advisory role(s) at this hospital or on behalf of Nuffield Health.