COURSE CURRICULUM

The BSc (Hons) Healthcare Science (Cardiac Physiology) degree combines scientific knowledge, clinical skills, and professional practice to prepare you for a career as a cardiac physiologist within the healthcare sector. The course begins by developing your understanding of the biological processes that underpin life, including genetics, cell function, human physiology, and how the body responds to disease and infection. You’ll also build essential professional skills, learning about patient care, reflective practice, communication, and the role of healthcare science within the NHS. As you progress, you’ll gain specialist knowledge of the respiratory, sleep, and cardiovascular systems, studying their anatomy, physiology, and pathophysiology while developing practical skills in routine investigations such as spirometry and pulse oximetry. Advanced modules focus on electrocardiogram (ECG) interpretation, enabling you to recognise normal and abnormal heart rhythms and understand how disease processes affect cardiac function. You’ll also study diagnostic techniques including ambulatory ECG monitoring, blood pressure monitoring, exercise testing, and cardiopulmonary exercise assessments, learning how to perform, analyse, and interpret these tests in a patient-centred context. The programme further develops your expertise in non-invasive cardiology through imaging techniques such as echocardiography, CT, and MRI, alongside the study of heart failure, congenital heart disease, and screening for cardiovascular conditions. Invasive cardiology modules introduce cardiac catheterisation, pacemakers, and other therapeutic procedures, preparing you to work safely within multidisciplinary cardiac teams. The course also emphasises research methods, leadership, patient safety, innovation, and service improvement, culminating in an independent healthcare science research investigation. By graduation, you’ll possess the scientific knowledge, technical competence, and professional skills required to perform and interpret a wide range of cardiac investigations and contribute effectively to the diagnosis, treatment, and management of patients with cardiovascular disease in modern healthcare settings.