A new national £5.5 million research centre for heart disease is to be set up at Leicester's Glenfield Hospital.

Thousands of local people will benefit from ground-breaking and life-saving research and treatment at the new centre.

More than 100 doctors and scientists will be involved in the work which will be carried out there and 15 jobs will be created.

Key areas of research will include looking into the genetics and inheritance of heart disease, as well as studies of high blood pressure.

Researchers will also work on the introduction of new treatments, including different types of cardiac stents – used to keep arteries open when a patient has undergone a procedure to clear blockages.

The centre will have an outpatient suite which will be just inside the main entrance at Glenfield Hospital – which is already ranked among the best in Britain for its cardiac surgery.

It means patients taking part in research projects will have any necessary tests and scans in a specially created area.

Cash for the scheme – known as a cardiovascular biomedical research unit – has come from the Department of Health's National Institute of Health Research.

Professor Nilesh Samani, a consultant cardiologist at the hospital said: "Getting the money for this centre is real recognition that Glenfield is one of the leading international heart hospitals.

"We will bring together the best minds and technologies from universities and industry so we can achieve a better understanding of heart disease and how we tackle it."

Laboratories are to be built thanks to an additional £4 million from the University of Leicester.

Prof Samani, who is also Professor of Cardiology at the University of Leicester, and Bryan Williams, Professor of Medicine at the university, were among the team who put together the plans.

Patients like 77-year-old John Holbrook will be among those who could quickly benefit from new treatments.

Mr Holbrook has had heart problems for 20 years. He has been in Glenfield for nearly a week to correct a problem which meant not enough blood was being pumped around his body.

He said: "It is magic to be able to come to the best heart hospital in the country."

Malcolm Lowe-Lauri, chief executive of the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, said: "The centre isn't just an asset for Leicester, but for the East Midlands and beyond."