Professor Timothy Betts

Prof Tim Betts has been a consultant cardiologist in Oxford since 2004, following training in Wessex and Chicago. He specialises in the diagnosis and treatment of heart rhythm-related problems, including arrhythmias, atrial fibrillation, SVTs, flutter, ectopics, palpitations, blackouts and syncope, stroke and heart failure as well as general cardiology. Treatments he undertakes include ablations, pacemakers, ICDs, biventricular pacing (cardiac resynchronization therapy) and he is one of only a handful of UK cardiologists who perform left atrial appendage occlusion to prevent strokes in patients with atrial fibrillation.

As well as seeing private patients he is Research Lead of the Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust Cardiac Rhythm Management Unit. He is an Associate Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine at Oxford University and also works in the Oxford Biomedical Research Centre. He has an active clinical research programme which means he has access to the latest novel technologies and treatments, often the first in the UK.

He has published textbooks and has over 190 scientific papers published in peer-reviewed journals. He travels the world to teach new techniques such as left atrial appendage closure and complex ablation and is regularly asked to give lectures at scientific conferences or broadcast live cases.

He empathises with people who enjoy sports and challenges, being a keen runner and completing some notable ultramarathons includine 100 miles along the Thames Path, running 7 marathons in 7 days from coast to coast along the Wainwright route, the famous 55 mile Comrades Marathon in South Africa, and most recently, the Man vs Horse race in Wales.

He was voted one of the top 10 heart rhythm doctors in the UK in 2018