Leading specialist carries out 'routine' heart treatment

The Prime Minister's two-hour operation to correct an electric short-circuit in his heart was being carried out by one of London's top heart doctors.

The problem causes an irregular heartbeat which is not dangerous and a common procedure is used to "burn" away the section of the organ causing the problem.

The procedure was being carried out today under local anaesthetic and sedation by Dr Punit Ramrakha at Hammersmith Hospital, where Mr Blair was treated for the condition last year.

Hundreds of patients each year undergo the procedure, developed in the Nineties, and it has become routine. The patient may feel some discomfort but it is unusual to feel pain.

Dr Ramrakha is a leading cardiology consultant and practises at both Stoke Mandeville and Hammersmith Hospitals. He studied at Oxford and Cambridge universities before training in general medicine at Hammersmith Hospital and other London centres. Then he undertook cardiology training as a registrar at the Hammersmith Hospital, Charing Cross Hospital and St Mary ' s Hospital, Paddington.

Dr Ramrakha's NHS practice is based at Stoke Mandeville in Buckinghamshire, where he treated Mr Blair last October when he suffered chest pains at his official country residence, Chequers. The Prime Minister was later taken to Hammersmith Hospital, where Dr Ramrakha has a private clinic, as an acute admission.

Hammersmith is a tertiary referral centre for cardiology and cardiothoracic surgery and receives patients from all over London.

Last night Dr Ramrakha said: "The Prime Minister first presented in October 2003, when he was noted to have an abnormal heart rate. Because of his symptoms, this was corrected with a cardioversion which restored his heartbeat to normal. Due to a recurrence of the irregular heart beat, we have arranged to admit him to hospital to have a procedure known as catheter ablation."

The whole process usually takes about two-and-a-half hours.

Dr Ramrakha added: "It is not a surgical procedure - there is no surgical incision and the chest cavity is not opened. The procedure is carried out under local anaesthetic and sedation.

"As soon as the ablation is carried out, the heart's normal, regular rhythm is restored and the heart's pumping action returns to full efficiency. Patients normally spend the night in hospital after the procedure."

One man suffering from the same condition as Tony Blair is Mark Nathwani, a 40-year-old property investor from Kingston, who said that 18 months ago he went to hospital after suddenly feeling dizzy while shopping.

He was given an ECG which takes a reading of heart activity, some medication and sent home. The following morning, he was rushed back to hospital where he was diagnosed with supraventricular tachycardia (SVT).

Doctors put Mr Nathwani on clot-busting drugs and gave him a spray to apply under his tongue to widen his arteries. He stayed in hospital for three weeks.