The deadly heart condition that forced James Taylor to retire

England cricketer James Taylor’s retirement has the entire cricketing fraternity and fans dejected. The 26-year-old was forced to retire as a result of being diagnosed with a heart condition ARVC (arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy).

Not many know about the rare form of the heart ailment which came to people’s knowledge when former Bolton Wanderers footballer Fabrice Muamba suffered a cardiac arrest on the pitch in an FA Cup tie at Tottenham in 2012.

Sports involved high-intensity movement sometimes witness athletes getting cardiac arrest more common cause of cardiac arrest in young people/sportsmen and women is hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM, also known as hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy). In HCM, the heart muscle becomes too thick, which encourages abnormal heart rhythms.

But, Arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC) is a rare disease which affects the heart muscle. The disease is caused by a mutation in one or more genes and is passed on through families. One of five different forms of cardiomyopathy, most people are not diagnosed until later in life as the disease develops slowly in four stages and symptom are visible only when it gets worse over time.

The symptoms include abnormal heart rhythms, breathlessness, fainting, swollen legs/ankles, swelling in the abdomen. It all bears the risk of sudden cardiac arrest on exertion. This can be precipitated by the onset of dizzy spells, palpitations or blackouts.

In people with ARVC, some of the heart muscle (in the right ventricle) is replaced by fibrous tissue and fat. The proteins that hold the cells that make up the heart muscle together don’t develop properly, making the heart muscle becomes thin and stretched.

Factually, athletes who suffer from the condition are five times more likely to die as a result of it than other people. Up to 1 in 1000 people in the UK are estimated to have the faulty gene which can lead to ARVC. Although around 64,000 UK people may carry a faulty gene not everyone develops the condition.

Another unfortunate fact is that ARVC cannot be fully cured. However, it can be controlled by medicine or surgery. With proper treatment and follow-up, most people with ARVC are able to control their symptoms and live a normal life.

Sportsmen are advised to reduce the amount and intensity of any exercise that they do as high levels of intense exercise can trigger dangerous heart rhythms.

(Source)

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