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Dr Oliver Starr

Dr Oliver Starr, MRCGP

MBChB, BMedSc, MRCS, MRCGP, DRCOG

Dr Oliver Starr is a general practitioner in Hertfordshire and an undergraduate tutor at University College Medical School.

He is a general practice appraiser and a case assessor at the National Perinatal Epidemiology Unit, University of Oxford. Other interests include medical law, particularly regarding clinical negligence. Dr Starr is a council member of the Cameron Fund charity.

Oliver’s web presence

Recently contributed to:

Marfan syndrome
Info leaflet

Marfan syndrome (named after Dr Antoine Marfan, the French doctor who first described it in 1896) is a genetic disorder. You are born with it and you will have it all your life. In Marfan syndrome, the connective tissue in your body becomes weakened. People with Marfan syndrome are usually very tall and thin. Different parts of your body can be affected including your heart, blood vessels, eyes and skeleton. Some people with Marfan syndrome only have a few problems, while others are more severely affected. The diagnosis is usually made because of any typical features that you may have. You may also have a history of Marfan syndrome in your family. There is no cure but treatment is aimed at reducing the chance of any complications developing. It may include various medical and surgical treatments. If you have Marfan syndrome, you have a 50:50 chance of passing on the condition to each of your children.

Anatomy of the heart and blood vessels
Features

The heart is a muscular pump that pushes blood through blood vessels around the body. The heart beats continuously, pumping the equivalent of more than 14,000 litres of blood every day through five main types of blood vessels: arteries, arterioles, capillaries, venules and veins.

Feature Image