How much does a private cardiologist cost in London? Fees explained

10 minute read

Medically reviewed by Dr Ravi Assomull, Consultant Cardiologist – July 2026

Key takeaways

• At our London clinic an initial cardiology consultation is £325 and a follow-up is £275; diagnostic tests are priced individually.
• All major UK private medical insurers are accepted - get pre-authorisation before your visit and check whether your policy needs a GP referral.
• Self-paying is straightforward and increasingly common: no referral needed, clear quotes before anything is done, and appointments typically the next working day.
• The real cost question isn't the consultation fee - it's whether the pathway gets you to an answer efficiently, without duplicated tests or open-ended uncertainty.

"How much does it cost to see a cardiologist privately?" is one of the most searched cardiology questions in the UK - and one of the worst answered. Many clinics publish nothing at all; others quote a consultation fee and leave you to discover the rest later. If you're weighing up whether private heart care is affordable, you deserve the full picture up front.

This guide sets out real numbers, explains what drives costs up or down, shows how insurance actually works in practice, and - just as importantly - lists the questions worth asking any clinic before you book, including ours. Throughout, the figures quoted are the current fees at our own private cardiologist practice in London; our fees page always carries the up-to-date list.

The headline numbers

Two features of this structure are worth noticing. First, the consultation is long - up to an hour. Cardiology diagnosis lives in the history, and a rushed fifteen minutes is a false economy at any price. Second, tests are itemised rather than bundled invisibly into an inflated consultation fee, so you only pay for what your situation actually requires - and you'll know the price of every test before it happens.

What determines your total cost?

1. The question being asked

Costs follow clinical complexity, and the honest answer to "what will it cost in total?" is "it depends on what we find":

• Reassurance and prevention: a consultation plus an ECG and blood tests may be all that's needed - or a structured heart health check if you want a comprehensive baseline.
• A symptom to investigate: palpitations typically add an echocardiogram and an ambulatory monitor; exertional chest pain may add a stress echo or CT coronary angiogram.
• A known condition to manage: ongoing care usually settles into periodic £275 follow-ups plus occasional surveillance tests.

2. Insured versus self-pay

Both are welcome; the mechanics differ (details below). Insured patients typically pay only their policy excess; self-payers control exactly what they spend and skip the authorisation admin.

3. Where you're treated

London private fees vary widely between providers - some charge substantially more for the same tests in the same postcode. A Harley Street address does not itself guarantee either a fair price or a thorough consultation; the questions at the end of this article will protect you anywhere.

Using private medical insurance

All major UK insurers are accepted at our clinic. The process that keeps claims smooth:

1. Check your policy first. Two things matter: whether outpatient consultations and diagnostics are covered (and to what annual limit), and whether your insurer requires a GP referral before authorising a specialist visit - many do, some don't.
2. Get pre-authorisation. Call your insurer before the appointment and obtain an authorisation number for the consultation (and, later, for any tests). It takes minutes and prevents disputed claims.
3. Bring your details. Membership number plus authorisation code; the clinic can then generally bill the insurer directly, leaving you to settle only any excess or shortfall your policy specifies.

Insurance quirks worth knowing: policies with an outpatient limit can cap what's claimable in a policy year; "open referral" policies may steer you to their network (you can still choose to self-pay to see a specific consultant); and chronic-condition management is excluded by some policies even when acute investigation is covered. None of these are obstacles - they are simply worth knowing before rather than after.

Self-paying: simpler than most people expect

A growing share of our patients have no private insurance at all. They self-refer (no GP letter needed), pay the consultation fee, and approve each test knowing its price in advance. For a single episode of care - investigate the symptom, get the answer, treat or be reassured - self-pay is predictable and usually far less expensive than people fear, because tests are only ordered when they will genuinely change the plan. That principle is a clinical philosophy, but it is also the best cost-control mechanism in medicine.

Payment plans: our diagnostic and screening packages can be paid in monthly instalments - details sit alongside each package on the fees page, or email enquiries@cardiologist.london.

Private vs NHS: the cost question people are really asking

NHS cardiology is free at the point of use, and for emergencies and complex inpatient care it is unbeatable - a suspected heart attack means 999, full stop. The private fee buys something specific: time. A next-working-day appointment instead of a months-long queue; an hour instead of fifteen minutes; tests on the day instead of across separate visits; one named consultant throughout. Whether that trade is worth £325 depends on your symptoms, your risk and your peace of mind - our detailed comparison of private versus NHS cardiology works through exactly that decision, including the popular hybrid route of a fast private diagnosis handed back into NHS care.

Is it worth it? Thinking about value, not just price

Strip away the anxiety and the question becomes an assessment of value:

• The cost of waiting isn't zero. Untreated atrial fibrillation carries stroke risk; unmanaged blood pressure and cholesterol compound quietly; months of uncertainty have their own price in sleep and worry.
• Early answers are cheaper answers. Conditions found early are almost always simpler - and less expensive in every sense - to treat than conditions found late. That is the entire logic of acting on warning signs promptly.
• A thorough hour prevents expensive meandering. The costliest pathway in private medicine is the unfocused one - test after test without a clear question. A consultant who takes a proper history orders fewer, better-chosen tests.

Questions to ask any private clinic before booking

Use these anywhere - a clinic confident in its value will answer all five happily:

1. What exactly does the consultation fee include, and how long is the appointment?
2. What will each recommended test cost, before it's done? Itemised, in writing.
3. Who will I actually see - a consultant cardiologist, every time? At our clinic, every appointment is with Dr Ravi Assomull (MA, MD, FRCP) - Cambridge-trained, a consultant cardiologist since 2011, formerly Clinical Lead for Community Cardiology at Imperial College NHS Trust.
4. Do you write to my GP, and is that included? (It should be, with your consent, at no extra charge.)
5. Which insurers do you work with, and can you bill them directly?

Three worked examples of a typical pathway

Illustrative pathways (not quotes - test prices vary with what your situation requires; the fees page has current figures):

Example 1: "My blood pressure readings are high"

Initial consultation (£325) with properly measured clinic readings and an ECG; a 24-hour monitor to confirm the diagnosis and exclude white-coat effect; bloods for kidney function and diabetes; one follow-up (£275) to confirm the plan. Two visits, a definitive diagnosis, treatment started - typically inside a fortnight from first call.

Example 2: "I keep getting palpitations"

Initial consultation (£325) with same-day ECG and echocardiogram to confirm the heart is structurally normal; an ambulatory monitor worn at home to catch the rhythm in the act; follow-up (£275) to review the recording. The commonest outcome - benign ectopics in a normal heart - converts an open-ended worry into a closed question. If AF is found instead, treatment starts immediately, stroke risk addressed from day one.

Example 3: "I want a proper heart check - my father died young"

A structured screening pathway: consultation, ECG, echocardiogram, advanced bloods including lipoprotein(a), with exercise testing or a CT coronary angiogram added only where the risk assessment points to it. Packaged options - including the comprehensive Health MOT, payable in instalments - are on the fees page; our heart health check guide explains which tests earn their place and why.

Insurance vs self-pay at a glance

The cost nobody itemises: waiting

Any honest discussion of private fees has to price the alternative properly, and the alternative is rarely "free" - it is waiting, and waiting has costs of three kinds.

Clinical cost. Some cardiac conditions are gloriously indifferent to delay; others are not. Undiagnosed atrial fibrillation carries stroke risk for every month it goes unmanaged. Untreated hypertension stiffens arteries cumulatively. A tight aortic valve narrows on its own schedule, not the waiting list's. None of this argues against the NHS - it argues against unassessed waiting, where nobody yet knows which kind of problem you have.

Practical cost. Months of "waiting for the letter" often means deferred holidays, cancelled training plans, insurance forms left incomplete, and - for the self-employed - real income anxiety about a health question mark that a single afternoon of testing could remove.

Psychological cost. The 3am search for "heart flutter meaning" is its own tax, paid nightly. Patients routinely tell us the £325 was worth it for the sleep alone. Reassurance backed by a normal echocardiogram is a different substance from reassurance backed by hope.

Set against those three, a transparent £325-£500 pathway to a definitive answer is not an indulgence; for many situations it is simply the cheaper option once all currencies are counted.

Frequently asked questions

How much does it cost to see a cardiologist privately in London?

At our clinic: £325 for the initial consultation (up to an hour), £275 for follow-ups. Diagnostic tests such as an echocardiogram or a home ECG monitor are priced individually and quoted before they're done - current prices are on the fees page.

Do I pay more without a GP referral?

No - the fee is the same. No referral is needed to book; a referral or previous results simply add helpful background. Only insurers sometimes require one for authorisation.

Does private health insurance cover cardiology?

Almost all comprehensive UK policies cover specialist consultations and diagnostics once authorised. Check your outpatient limits and referral requirements, obtain pre-authorisation, and bring your codes - the clinic can usually bill your insurer directly.

Are there hidden costs I should watch for?

The classics are: short consultations that force paid follow-ups just to finish the conversation; unpriced tests revealed on the invoice; separate "report fees"; and charges for GP letters. Our structure is designed against all four - long consultations, itemised test prices agreed in advance, and letters included. One more worth knowing when comparing providers: hospital facility fees, which some venues add on top of the consultant's fee. Clinic-based outpatient care avoids them; if you're quoted elsewhere, ask whether the figure is all-inclusive.

How quickly can I be seen?

Typically the next working day, and almost always within the same week, at 68 Harley Street - with early-evening slots Monday to Friday. Read our guide to what happens at the appointment to make the hour work hardest for you.

Can I spread the cost, or use tax-efficient routes?

Screening and diagnostic packages can be paid in monthly instalments - the plan for each package is shown alongside its price on the fees page. Some patients also pay through a healthcare cash plan (which reimburses set amounts for specialist consultations - check your plan's schedule), and company directors sometimes fund health assessments through their business; whether that is appropriate and tax-efficient depends on your circumstances, so take advice from your accountant rather than a website. What we can promise from our side is the part that makes any of those routes workable: itemised, predictable pricing agreed before anything is done, and receipts that make reclaiming simple.

The bottom line

Private cardiology in London costs less than most people assume - £325 for a consultant's full attention for up to an hour, £275 thereafter - and the total pathway stays affordable when tests are chosen carefully and priced transparently. What you're really buying is speed and certainty about the organ you can least afford to gamble with.

Book an appointment or call 020 3576 2885 - and if cost is a concern, say so; the team will tell you exactly what your situation is likely to involve before you commit to anything.