Rory McIlroy’s little-known health battle with deadly condition – after golf champ’s epic Masters win
Rory McIlroy finally slayed his demons on Sunday after an epic victory saw him win his first Masters and complete a historic grand slam.
The 35-year-old held his nerve in a dramatic play-off with England’s Justin Rose to clinch the title after his 17th attempt at Augusta National.
Hailing it a ‘dream come true’, the Northern Irish golfer also confessed ‘I started to wonder if it would ever be my time’.
He is now only the sixth man — and first European ever — to claim the Grand Slam.
But despite his athletic prowess, McIlroy battles a serious heart condition that can prove deadly if he doesn’t ‘stay on top of it’.
In 2018, he revealed he suffered a heart scare following a ‘bad viral infection’ in China 18 months earlier.
He also told the WHOOP podcast this week that he has had myocarditis, a potentially dangerous inflammation of the heart muscle, since the age of 20.
While most cases are mild, the condition can damage the heart and make it difficult for it to pump blood.
Rory McIlroy finally slayed his demons on Sunday after an epic victory saw him win his first Masters and complete a historic grand slam
The 35-year-old held his nerve in a dramatic play-off with England’s Justin Rose to clinch the win after his 17th attempt at Augusta National. Pictured, celebrating with his caddie and childhood friend Harry Diamond
He said: ‘I have myocarditis, and I’ve had it since I was 20-years-old.
‘I wear WHOOP and monitor my heart rate variability and heart rate and obviously coming down the line, some other things that can help me.
‘With myocarditis if you’re not hydrated enough or not getting enough magnesium your heart can have little arrhythmias that can be worrisome.
‘To be able to keep on top of that just gives me massive peace of mind.’
Myocarditis usually occurs following a virus. It is caused by the body’s immune system overreacting to an infection, causing inflammation, which can stay in the heart even after the virus has been cleared.
While some sufferers have no symptoms, for others, it can cause chest pains, palpitations and shortness of breath.
But in rare cases, if the inflammation is severe, myocarditis can scar the heart muscle.
This can affect the electrical activity of the heart as well as how well blood is pumped round the body, potentially triggering a heart attack or stroke.
While some warning signs are easy to spot — such as severe chest pain — others are more vague and hard to pinpoint
In 2018, he also confessed has to get an ECG and MRI scan every six months to monitor the condition and suffered a minor heart scare 18 months earlier.
In an interview with The Telegraph he revealed that the fractured rib he suffered in 2017 and hampered his year leaving him without a trophy all season, had recovered.
He said: ‘The rib’s fine, no problems whatsoever — I had an MRI scan on my thoracic spine and all was ok.
‘But I’ve got a bit of an irregularity with my heart that I have to keep on top of,’ he added.
‘I have a flat T-wave and I’ll have to get an electrocardiogram (ECG) on my heart every six months and MRI scan every year.
‘I suffered a really bad viral infection in China 18 months ago and they told me that’s the reason that I have this thickening of my left ventricle and there’s a bit of scar tissue.
‘For now, I just need to stay on top of it and have to stay fit. Hey, I was planning on doing that anyway.’
He later took to social media, telling fans his heart issue was ‘really not that big of a deal and nothing to worry about, apart from getting an annual check up, like you should do anyway.’
Hailing yesterday’s victory a ‘dream come true’, the Northern Irish golfer also confessed ‘I started to wonder if it would ever be my time’
In 2018 McIlroy later took to Instagram telling fans his heart issue was ‘really not that big of a deal and nothing to worry about, apart from getting an annual check up, like you should do anyway’
In an Instagram post he said: ‘I feel there’s been a big reaction to it in the media which there really shouldn’t be.
‘I’m fit and healthy and can’t wait to get my 2018 season started in Abu Dhabi next week.’
The heart has an electrical cycle that moves in waves through the upper chambers, or atria, then through the lower chambers, or ventricles.
The T-wave is the final wave of that cycle, representing the return of the ventricles to a resting state.
A flat T-wave can result from a number of factors, including low potassium in the blood stream. It may also indicate that the heart is low on oxygen.
It comes after a string of incidents involving athletes and young and supposedly fit and healthy young people dramatically collapsing during sports matches or suffering cardiac events.
Renowned experts in cardiac health issues in young athletes have told MailOnline there has been no rise in deaths or in fact cases overall, in recent years.
But alarming data last year revealed that premature deaths from cardiovascular problems generally, such as heart attacks and strokes, had hit their highest level in more than a decade.
MailOnline has previously highlighted how the number of young people, under 40, in England being treated for heart attacks by the NHS is on the rise.
Cases of heart attacks, heart failure and strokes among the under-75s had tumbled since the 1960s thanks to plummeting smoking rates, advanced surgical techniques and breakthroughs such as stents and statins.
But now, rising obesity rates, and its catalogue of associated health problems such as high blood pressure and diabetes, are thought to be one of the major contributing factors.
Slow ambulance response times for category 2 calls in England — which includes suspected heart attacks and strokes — as well as long waits for tests and treatment have also been blamed.
