When Brendon Reid first experienced calf pain in 2024, he assumed he had 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.
"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," he recalled.
From Calf Strain to Cardiac Diagnosis
Heart failure is a chronic condition where the heart cannot pump blood effectively. It can result from heart attack damage, high blood pressure, or cardiomyopathy. There is no cure, but treatments can manage symptoms. Reduced blood flow can cause leg pain or cramping, and fluid buildup can lead to swollen ankles and legs.
Brendon, who lives with his wife Kim and sons Haydn, eight, and Archie, three, explained: "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."
Shock Diagnosis of Atrial Fibrillation
During the ECG, the nurse noticed his heart rate was 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." He was admitted to A&E and stayed in hospital for four to five days, where he was diagnosed with atrial fibrillation (AF), an arrhythmia causing an erratic, fast heart rhythm.
Now 37, Brendon was eventually allowed home with follow-up tests and medication. Two weeks later, an echocardiogram revealed heart failure. "My heart's ejection fraction, or pumping strength, was 22 per cent, which is very low. It's crazy to think I was still trying to do everything as normal at the time. Looking back, I had been getting more breathless than usual, especially playing rugby, and it was taking me longer to recover."
Uncertainty Over Cause and Recovery
Doctors were unsure why he developed heart failure in his 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."
Initially told to stop playing sports, Brendon spent a year on tests and treatments. "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."
Charity Swim for British Heart Foundation
Following his diagnosis, Brendon is set to take on the Bournemouth Pier to Pier Swim in aid of the British Heart Foundation on June 27. He will tackle the 1.4-mile swim alongside his mum Jacalyn. "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."
To sponsor Brendon, visit his Just Giving page. According to the British Heart Foundation, more than a million people in the UK have heart failure, with around 200,000 new cases each year. Symptoms include fainting, fatigue, shortness of breath, and swelling in feet and ankles. Anyone experiencing these should see their GP, or call 999 if struggling to breathe or have chest pain.
