Dr Nicholas Gall

Dr Nicholas Gall is a consultant cardiologist at the Institute of Sport, Exercise and Health (ISEH). He qualified in medicine from Guy’s and St. Thomas’s hospitals in 1993 with an additional degree in experimental pathology. Subsequently he trained in general medicine and then in cardiology in the Southeast of England, particularly specialising in cardiac electrophysiology, arrhythmias. He was appointed consultant cardiologist at King’s College Hospital and Guy’s and St. Thomas’s hospitals in 2005 and is now based solely at King’s College Hospital.

He completed a Masters in Cardiology at the University of Sussex and an MD in Cardiology at King’s College London.
Since being appointed as a consultant cardiologist, he has continued to manage general cardiology and arrhythmia patients and has developed a significant interest in transient loss of consciousness and autonomic disorders and the overlap between neurology and cardiology, neuro-cardiology. He particularly specialises in the investigation of transient loss of consciousness which is unexplained but also in autonomic dysregulatory conditions such as postural tachycardia syndrome (PoTS), orthostatic intolerance and inappropriate sinus tachycardia.

Investigation and management of dizzy spells is a particular focus. He works in a multidisciplinary team with a number of specialists in other causes of loss of consciousness including neurology and neuropsychiatry but also with colleagues expert in abnormalities in the nerve control of organ systems, for instance in the bowel.

He has published extensively in the area of cardiology and particularly in recent years in syncope and PoTS and has run national and international meetings focused on arrhythmia, transient loss of consciousness and PoTS. With colleagues, he published the first textbook on POTS. He is patron of the National PoTS charity, POTS-UK and is medical advisor to the National blackout charity STARS, to the hypermobility charity HMSA and to Medical Detection Dogs.

Loss of consciousness and dizziness in athletes is a complex area with multiple causes requiring complex investigation and a multidisciplinary approach. PoTS and related conditions are more common in the hypermobile, which is also common in the athletic population and therefore many areas of Dr Gall’s interest are common in athletes and can be significantly disruptive to performance. With multidisciplinary colleagues also specialising in other aspects of sports medicine, optimised performance and treatment of challenging symptoms can be achieved.