Associate Professor Nathan Better

Clinical cardiology and nuclear cardiology

Associate Professor Nathan Better is a clinical cardiologist, specialising in Nuclear Cardiology and cardiac CT.

He trained in internal medicine and cardiology at the Austin Hospital in Melbourne and then completed nuclear medicine training at the Repatriation Hospital and Alfred Hospital. Following this, he undertook a Fellowship program at Harvard Medical School based at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, U.S.A. This was in the Joint Program in Nuclear Medicine, with a special interest in nuclear cardiology. He subsequently completed a Cardiology Fellowship at the West Roxbury VA Hospital in Boston before returning to Melbourne.

Since returning in 1994, A/Prof Better has based his clinical private cardiology practice at Cabrini Hospital in Melbourne. He is available for GP and specialist referrals and practises in a full range of cardiology services, including coronary disease, heart failure, cardiac rhythm disturbance, hypertension, lipid management and preventative cardiology. In 1996, he set up the Nuclear Cardiology service at Cabrini and continues to work there as a nuclear medicine physician in Nuclear Cardiology and General Nuclear Medicine.

A/Prof Better also works at the Royal Melbourne Hospital as a clinical cardiologist and is the Deputy Director of Nuclear Medicine. He is involved in the full range of nuclear medicine procedures. He has completed training in cardiac CT and in 2007 helped set up that facility at Royal Melbourne, where he remains actively involved in the service. In 2015, he also completed training in PET and will be involved at both Royal Melbourne and Cabrini Health in their new PET facilities.

He has a special interest in post-graduate teaching and is heavily involved with the education of cardiology and nuclear medicine registrars. He also plays a central role in the training and preparation of internal medicine basic trainees for the FRACP Part 1 Internal Medicine examinations.

A/Prof Better’s research interests include the role of cardiac imaging in diagnosis and prognosis and radiation safety. He is involved with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna, Austria as an expert lecturer and researcher and in setting up practice guidelines. He has also undertaken teaching appointments in Vienna and throughout Asia.

A/Prof Better’s personal interests include travel and soccer. He is married and has 4 children.

He is committed to patient care, both inpatient and outpatient, and to medical education and maintains a strong interest in clinical research.