Scottish footballer diagnosed with rare heart condition

A Scottish footballer has been diagnosed with a heart problem after complaining of shortness of breath towards the end of last season with Scottish side Dunfermline.

20 year old defender Stuart Urquhart underwent heart tests and ECG scans where it was confirmed that he had a condition called dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM).

DCM is a disease which affects the heart whereby the left ventricle becomes stretched and thin, meaning the heart is unable to pump blood around the body efficiently. The lack of contracting within the heart means that less blood is moved to vital organs and can also result in swelling of the ankles and abdomen, excessive tiredness and palpitations.

DCM can be an inherited heart defect but there are a number of other causes, including viral infections, uncontrolled high blood pressure and any problems with the heart valves.

Urquhart said: “Even in the warm-up, I was becoming quite breathless and I was starting to doubt myself and thinking I was a bit unfit maybe, because I couldn't control my heart rate.

"I would start running and I had no control of my breathing, but I was desperate to play. I didn't want to come off and say I had this wrong with me - but I knew there was something wrong."

Such is the vulnerability of the heart, in some cases DCM can lead a life-threatening abnormal heart rhythm which means a small proportion of people with DCM are at a heightened risk of suffering a sudden cardiac arrest.

At present there is no cure for DCM, but treatment for the condition can involve:

medicine to control your blood pressure a pacemaker to control your heart rate if you are at risk of a life threatening abnormal heart rhythm, then an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) may also be needed

After reading about a number of sporting stars over the past few weeks who have suffered mid game cardiac arrests, it is good to see that ECG scans are picking up heart conditions within athletes and re-emphasises the call for more cardiac screening to take place at all levels of competition.

defibshop Sales Manager Paula Leech said: “Whilst it is unfortunate to hear that Stuart has had to put his footballing career on hold whilst his condition is addressed, it is great to see that his condition was detected once he came forward.

‘Increasing cardiac screenings throughout sports at all levels is one of the few ways we can try and prevent further athletes from suffering cardiac arrests. This is a perfect example of how we can protect sports men and women along with making sure we have public access defibrillators in all sporting locations.”

If you would like to learn more about cardiac arrest, the heart and how defibrillators can help, call our friendly and impartial defibshop team today on 0845 071 0830 and we’ll provide you with all the information you need from our sporting defibrillator package deals to AED training.Learn more about defibrillators