Dr Charis Costopoulos is a consultant interventional cardiologist at Royal Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, with clinical expertise that encompasses both general and interventional cardiology. In particular, Dr Costopoulos has a special interest in complex coronary angioplasty (stent insertion) and structural heart intervention (especially in transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) and transcatheter edge-to-edge repair of the mitral and tricuspid valves (e.g. MitraClip and PASCAL)).
After graduating from the University of Cambridge with distinction (both in Part I and Final MB), Dr Costopoulos underwent his core medical training in Cambridge, Oxford and London. During this time, he completed a part-time MPhil (Master of Philosophy) in Translational Medicine and Therapeutics prior to commencing his general cardiology training at North West London and, specifically, Hammersmith Hospital, London.
He then undertook an interventional cardiology fellowship at San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy for a year (2012-2013) and, subsequently, North West London interventional cardiology fellowships at Hammersmith Hospital. His strong research interests led to his return to the University of Cambridge where he completed his PhD on the role of biomechanical forces in coronary atherosclerosis; this led to a number of publications in major cardiovascular journals including the European Heart Journal.
He continued his interventional training at Hammersmith Hospital until his appointment as a British Heart Foundation Clinical Lecturer at the University of Cambridge, which allowed him to further progress his research. During this time, he continued to work at Hammersmith Hospital as the Chief Interventional Fellow before taking up his appointment as a cardiology consultant at Royal Papworth Hospital where he is currently the Clinical Lead for Non-Coronary Intervention.
General Cardiology: includes the management of patients with chest pain, murmurs, valvular heart disease, breathlessness, palpitations, arrhythmias, heart failure and hypertension.
Coronary Intervention: includes the assessment and treatment of coronary artery disease through angiography, pressure wire assessment (FFR, RFR and iFR), intravascular imaging (IVUS and OCT) and stent implantation (PCI).
Structutal Intervention: assessment and treatment of structural heart disease including valvular disease with particular interest in transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI).
Dr Costopoulos' research interests involve both clinical and translational research. He has published extensively on how biomechanical forces may play a role in the development of coronary atherosclerotic plaques, how these could be involved in plaque rupture and, therefore, myocardial infarction (heart attack).
In 2017, he was awarded the Young Investigator Award in Vascular Biology and Cardiovascular Disease for his work in this field.
He also has a strong interest in translational and clinical research and, in particular, how new techniques and technologies impact on patients’ clinical outcomes. He has published numerous articles on transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI), bioresorbable scaffolds (BRS) in clinical practice, acute coronary syndromes (ACS) and percutaneous coronary intervention techniques. He has presented his work in cardiology conferences worldwide including Europe, the USA and Japan.
- University of Cambridge – Preclinical Medicine MA (2000-2003)
- University of Cambridge – Clinical Medicine MB BChir (2003-2006)
- Membership of Royal College of Physician of London (2009)
- University of Cambridge – Translational Medicine and Therapeutics MPhil (2010)
- Membership of Royal College of Physician of London (2003)
- Cardiology Specialist training in coronary and structural interventional cardiology North West London Deanery (2010-2019)
- British Society of Echocardiography – Accreditation in Adult transthoracic echocardiography (2012)
- San Raffaele Scientific Institute – Fellowship in coronary and structural intervention (2012-2013)
- University of Cambridge – PhD in Cardiology – 2014-2017
- General Medical Council
- British Cardiovascular Intervention Society
- British Society of Echocardiography
- Fellow of Royal College of Physicians of London
*Full publication list available on PubMed and Google Scholar
Costopoulos C, Timmins LH, Huang Y et al. Combined plaque structural and wall shear stress in progression and regression of coronary atherosclerosis. Eur Heart J. 2019 May 7;40(18):1411-1422
Costopoulos C, Maehara A, Huang Y et al. Heterogeneity of Plaque Structural Stress is Increased in Plaques Leading to Adverse Clinical Events: Insights From the PROSPECT Study. JACC Cardiovasc Imaging Heterogeneity of Plaque Structural Stress Is Increased in Plaques Leading to MACE: Insights From the PROSPECT Study. JACC Cardiovasc Imaging. 2019 Jul 11. pii: S1936-878X(19)30559-5. doi: 10.1016/j.jcmg.2019.05.024. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 31326476.
Costopoulos C, Huang Y, Brown AJ et al. Plaque Rupture in Coronary Atherosclerosis Is Associated With Increased Plaque Structural Stress. JACC Cardiovasc Imaging. 2017 Jul 13. pii:S1936 878X(17)30513-2.doi:10.1016/j.jcmg.2017.04.017
Brown AJ, Shah AS, West NE, Costopoulos C et al. High-Sensitivity Troponin I is Associated With High-Risk Plaque and MACE in Stable Coronary Artery Disease. JACC Cardiovasc Imaging. 2017 Jan 11. pii: S1936-878X(16)30969-X. doi: 10.1016/j.jcmg.2016.09.025. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 28109924.
Costopoulos C, Brown AJ, Teng Z et al. Intravascular ultrasound and optical coherence tomography imaging of coronary atherosclerosis. Int J Cardiovasc Imaging. 2016 Jan;32(1):189-200. doi: 10.1007/s10554-015-0701-3. Review. PubMed PMID: 26153522.
Costopoulos C, Crowson MC, Brown AJ et al. Mid-term clinical outcomes of ABSORB bioresorbable vascular scaffold implantation in a real-world population: A single-center experience. Cardiovasc Revasc Med. 2015 Dec;16(8):461-4.
Brown AJ, Obaid DR, Costopoulos C et al. Direct Comparison of Virtual-Histology Intravascular Ultrasound and Optical Coherence Tomography Imaging for Identification of Thin-Cap Fibroatheroma. Circ Cardiovasc Imaging. 2015 Oct;8(10):e003487. doi: 10.1161/CIRCIMAGING.115.003487. PubMed PMID: 26429760; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4596008.
Costopoulos C, Wong J, Mittal T, Srinivasan M. Multi-modality imaging aids the diagnosis of bilateral coronary-cameral fistulae with involvement of the left ventricle. Int J Cardiol. 2015 Mar 1;182:166-7.
Costopoulos C, Latib A, Naganuma T et al. Comparison of early clinical outcomes between absorb bioresorbable vascular scaffold and everolimus-eluting stent implantation in a real-world population. Catheter Cardiovasc Interv. 2014 Jun 6. doi: 10.1002/ccd.25569.
Sato K, Costopoulos C, Takebayashi H et al. The role of integrated backscatter intravascular ultrasound in characterizing bare metal and drug-eluting stent restenotic neointima as compared to optical coherence tomography. J Cardiol. 2014 Apr 29. pii: S0914-5087(14)00102-6. doi:10.1016/j.jjcc.2014.03.007.
Naganuma T, Costopoulos C, Latib A et al. Feasibility and Efficacy of Bioresorbable Vascular Scaffolds Use for the Treatment of In-stent Restenosis and a Bifurcation Lesion in a Heavily Calcified Diffusely Diseased Vessel. JACC Cardiovasc Interv. 2014;7:e45-6.
Costopoulos C, Latib A, Maisano F et al. Comparison of results of transcatheter aortic valve implantation in patients with severely stenotic bicuspid versus tricuspid or nonbicuspid valves. Am J Cardiol. 2014;113:1390-3.
Vermi AC, Costopoulos C, Latib A et al. Urinary Neutrophil Gelatinase-Associated Lipocalin as a Predictor of Acute Kidney Injury after Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation Hellenic J Cardiol. 2014J;55:77-9.
Costopoulos C, Naganuma T, Latib A et al. Optical coherence tomography of a bifurcation lesion treated with bioresorbable vascular scaffolds with the "mini-crush" technique. JACC Cardiovasc Interv. 2013;6:1326-7.
Costopoulos C, Latib A, Naganuma T et al. The role of drug-eluting balloons alone or in combination with drug-eluting stents in the treatment of de novo diffuse coronary disease. JACC Cardiovasc Interv. 2013;6:1153-9.
Costopoulos C, Latib A, Ferrarello S et al. First- versus second-generation drug-eluting stents for the treatment of coronary bifurcations. Cardiovasc Revasc Med. 2013;14:311-5.
Costopoulos C, Latib A, Naganuma T et al. Comparison of abluminal biodegradable polymer biolimus-eluting stents and durable polymer everolimus-eluting stents in the treatment of coronary bifurcations.Catheter Cardiovasc Interv. 2014;83:889-95.
Costopoulos C, Latib A, Naganuma T et al. Comparison of first- and second-generation drug-eluting stents in saphenous vein grafts used as aorto-coronary conduits. Am J Cardiol. 2013;112:318-22.
Costopoulos C, Gorog DA, Di Mario C et al. Use of thrombectomy devices in primary percutaneous coronary intervention: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Int J Cardiol. Int J Cardiol. 2013;163:229-41.
