Emeritus ProfessorDavid Wood

Professor Wood is a cardiologist whose speciality is prevention of cardiovascular disease and he holds joint academic appointments at Imperial College London as Emeritus Professor of Cardiology and the University of Galway as Adjunct Professor of Preventive Cardiology based at the National Institute for Prevention and Cardiovascular Health.

He has contributed to international policy and guidelines on cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention through the European Society of Cardiology, World Heart Federation and the World Health Organisation. He was a senior author on the first Joint European Societies Recommendations on Prevention of Coronary Heart Disease in Clinical Practice in 1994 and subsequently initiated the Joint British Societies Guidelines on prevention of cardiovascular disease, chairing JBS1 and JBS2, and then the 2nd Edition of the Joint European Societies Guidelines on CVD prevention. He initiated the ASPIRE surveys of secondary and primary prevention in the UK, evaluating standards of preventive cardiology practice in hospital and primary care which led to the EUROASPIRE programme of surveys, now conducted across 27 European countries, with the 6th survey round (2024-26) recently launched. He led the EUROACTION and EUROACTION+ trials in preventive cardiology evaluating nurse-led models of preventive care in hospital and general practice across 8 European countries.

He chaired the ESC Working Group on Cardiovascular Epidemiology and became a founder and President of the European Association for Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation (now the European Association for Preventive Cardiology) and a Board member of the European Society of Cardiology. He founded the European Journal of Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation (now Preventive Cardiology). and was its first Joint Editor in Chief. He was Senior Editor of the first European Society of Cardiology Textbook of Preventive Cardiology and is now preparing, as Joint Editor in Chief, the 2nd Edition of this ESC Textbook for publication in 2026. He was Course Director for the Imperial College Masters degree programme in Preventive Cardiology (2008-18) providing education and training for doctors, nurses and allied health professionals and he now teaches on a portfolio of MSc courses around the rubric of cardiovascular health (Preventive Cardiology, Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation, Diabetes, Obesity) at the University of Galway.

He served for six years as a Board member of the World Heart Federation, two as President (2018-19), and in this capacity he formed the Global Coalition for Circulatory Health as a multi-speciality advocacy vehicle to WHO. He organised the 1st Global Summit on Circulatory Health in Mexico in 2018, now known as the World Heart Summit and convened annually in Geneva prior to the World Health Assembly. He led the transformation of the World Congress of Cardiology into an annual event held in partnership with member society congresses across all WHO regions.

Since 2019 he has been working at the University of Galway to support the development of the National Institute for Prevention and Cardiovascular Health, led by Professor Bill McEvoy as Research Director, help expand the MSc course in Preventive Cardiology, led by Dr Jenni Jones, into a portfolio of MSc courses in cardiovascular health and disease prevention, and contribute to innovative service development, led by Dr Susan Connolly, using mobile technology in secondary and primary prevention of CVD at Galway University Hopsital.

He achieved a Platinum Clinical Excellence Award for service to the NHS. He was awarded 3 Silver Medals by the European Society of Cardiology: Member of the ESC Board; President of the European Association for Prevention and Rehabilitation and ESC Board member; Secretary/Treasurer to the ESC Board. He was awarded the Sir James Mackenzie Medal by the British Cardiovascular Society for an outstanding lifetime contribution to British Cardiology. He is an Honorary Fellow of the Irish Cardiac Society and Fellow of the National Institute for Prevention and Cardiovascular Health.

He is married to Dr Catriona Jennings, a cardiovascular specialist nurse, and they have four adult children and a grandchild. He enjoys cooking for family and friends and also sailing, having circumnavigated the UK in a Frances 26 sailing boat and now planning to circumnavigate Ireland.