Scott Allan has outlined what he must do to manage the heart condition that almost cost him his career.
The Hibs playmaker revealed that he’s been suffering from hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and at one stage feared he’d have to stop playing.
However, after undergoing tests and receiving second and third opinions, Allan and the Easter Road medical staff have devised a rigorous regime that will constantly monitor his well being and ability to train and play.
It’s something Allan is used to having played with type 1 diabetes since childhood, although he acknowledged the risks that could potentially come with a heart condition.
But with this routine in place, Allan is confident he can be back to his best and enjoy the same length of career any other 29-year-old player could reasonably expect.
He explained: “I have to be hydrated consistently all day. To touch on the diabetes again, one of the first signs of having type 1 diabetes is having severe hydration. If it wasn’t managed, that would be one of the first things that would show up.
“The dehydration combined with the oxygen flow in my body was why I was getting the dizzy spells and the extreme fatigue.
“I need to have a low carb diet to make sure my blood sugars are as well as they can be.
“In terms of the heart stuff, I need to have checks every morning, get weighed, have a urine test to see how the hydration is.
“But with the people I’ve got around me, especially at the training ground, I feel like we’re all in this together. We started the journey together and now we;re coming out the other side. It’s good to have those types of people there.
“Friends and family as well, they’ve been there all the way.”
Allan did admit it was tough with young son Zach asking why dad wasn’t turning out for the Hibees in the Premiership as usual.
While he was desperate to get back playing, being a dad became his priority after learning of his condition, and he wasn’t prepared to take any risks had any of his symptoms persisted after returning to training.
Allan told Sky Sports: “He just kept asking ‘why are you not playing today dad?’ for the first couple of weeks because he has the HIbs TV on in his house.
“It just had to be the old ‘I’m injured’
“I was just dying for him to come and watch me play football. He loves football too so that was an emotional time when he was asking me ‘dad, are you not playing football anymore?’
“You go to his football training and guys have read things and heard things. They can sometimes forget that you;ve got a five-year-old next to you and they’re asking.
“When you get the news that you’ve got a heart condition and you;ve got a young son, first and foremost your job is to be a dad, be there and not put any danger towards him.
“Football’s a game I love and the only way I was going to carry on was if I didn’t get any symptoms. There’s no way I’d have put myself at risk if I’d continued to get them.
“I definitely feel safer now that I know what it is and what I need to do to manage it to make sure I don’t get those symptoms.
“I’m more excited about looking forward now in terms of my football career rather than worrying about what could’ve been.”
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