The sporty dad-of-two was shocked to learn he had a deadly heart condition
Dad-of-two Brendon was shocked to learn he had heart failure at the age of just 35(Image: Brendon Reid/ BHF)
When Brendon Reid first experienced calf pain in 2024, he assumed he’d sustained a muscle injury. The sports-mad dad-of-two from Winchburgh near Edinburgh was a keen rugby and football player.
But after his GP referred him for tests, the pain in his leg was linked to something far more serious – heart failure. This was a shocking revelation for Brendon, who was only 35 at the time.
He recalled: “When you hear those words for the first time, it’s scary. I was 35 with a young family at home. To go from thinking I’d strained a muscle playing rugby, to being told I had heart failure a few weeks later was almost impossible to wrap my head around.”
Heart failure is a chronic condition that means the heart is no longer able to pump blood around the body as well as it should. This can happen for several reasons, such as damage to the heart following a heart attack, poorly managed high blood pressure or heart muscle disease (cardiomyopathy).
There is no cure, but treatments can help manage symptoms and improve quality of life. Problems with your heart can lead to pain or cramping in the legs due to reduced blood flow.
It can also lead to swollen ankles and legs, as a result of a build-up of fluid there. Brendon, who lives with his wife Kim and their sons Haydn, eight, and Archie, three, explained more about his diagnosis. He said: “I’d gone to see my GP thinking I’d strained my calf playing rugby. He made an appointment for me at St John’s Hospital in Livingston to double-check I didn’t have deep vein thrombosis.
“I didn’t – it turned out the pain in my leg was due to an infection in the vein. But as part of that appointment, I was given an ECG, where electrodes are attached to your chest, arms and abdomen to measure your heart rate and rhythm.
“As soon as I’d been hooked up to the machine, the nurse started asking whether I got nervous in hospitals or if I was stressed. I thought she was just making friendly chit-chat at first, but when she went to fetch a doctor to look at my results, I was a bit concerned.
“They told me my heart rate was up at 170 bpm. Being into sports and having played rugby for years, I knew that was very high. That was the sort of heart rate I’d normally see if I’d just finished a really tough workout. But I couldn’t feel a thing. I had no idea that my heart was beating that fast.”
He was admitted to A&E and ended up staying in hospital for four or five days. During this time, he was diagnosed with atrial fibrillation (AF), an arrhythmia that causes an erratic, irregular and often very fast heart rhythm.
Brendon, now 37, was eventually allowed home but was told he’d need follow-up tests and an appointment to discuss medication to help manage the AF. Two weeks later, he was called in for an echocardiogram (an ultrasound scan of the heart).
“This turned out to be a bit of an ordeal. I went in for the scan at 8am and immediately afterwards they asked me to come back later that afternoon to speak to the cardiologist, which was a bit daunting,” he continued. “That’s when the cardiologist told me I had heart failure.”
Brendon added: “My heart’s ejection fraction, or pumping strength, was 22 per cent, which is very low. It’s crazy to think I was still doing trying to do everything as normal at the time. Looking back now, I had been getting more breathless than usual, especially playing rugby, and it was taking me longer than it should have done to recover from any physical exertion. But at the time, it never occurred to me that something was wrong.
“The doctors were a bit stumped as to why I’d developed heart failure in my 30s. I was overweight, but I’ve always been very active and healthy so they didn’t think this was a factor.
“They did say AF can sometimes lead to heart failure, especially if it’s gone untreated for a long time, and because I wasn’t having symptoms it was impossible to say how long I’d had it without realising. On the other hand, heart failure can also cause AF, so it’s a bit of a chicken and eggs situation for me.”
Initially, Brendon was told to stop playing sports and spent the next year having more tests and trying out different treatments. He said: “Now 18 months on, I’m in a much better place. It took a few tries to find the right dosages with my medication and I still live with AF and heart failure, but my heart’s pumping strength is a lot better and I’m able to lead a pretty normal life again.
“I’m playing five-a-side again once a week and, most importantly, I’m able to join in with family activities and be an active dad with our sons.” Following his diagnosis, Brendon is set to take on the Bournemouth Pier to Pier Swim in aid of the British Heart Foundation, which is taking place tomorrow (June 27).
He will be tackling the 1.4 mile swim alongside his mum Jacalyn. Brendon said: “As soon as I said I was signing up, my mum said, ‘Right, I’m doing it with you!’ She felt terrible when I was diagnosed that there wasn’t really anything she could do, so this was a way for her to support me too.
“We’ve been training together at a local pool and in a loch in our wetsuits. We’re hoping the sea in Bournemouth will be a little warmer!”
To sponsor Brendon for his swim, you can visit his Just Giving page here.
Symptoms
It’s estimated that more than a million people in the UK have heart failure, with around 200,000 new cases diagnosed each year. According to the BHF, symptoms of heart failure can include:
- Fainting or feeling lightheaded
- Feeling very tired (fatigued) or weak at rest which gets worse with movement
- Shortness of breath when you’re active or resting
- Swelling in your feet and ankles which can spread to your lower body
You should see your GP as soon as you can if you experience any of these symptoms. If you are struggling to breathe or have chest pain, you should call 999.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: www.dailyrecord.co.uk
