(Image: Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com)
Former Bradford Bulls academy talent Keegan Hirst was diagnosed with heart failure and prepared for the possibility that he might die.
Hirst, the first professional rugby league player to come out as gay, was diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy and heart failure in November 2024.
Tests showed his heart’s ejection fraction had fallen to around 20 per cent, which has now increased to 45 per cent since treatment.
But a healthy heart would normally have an ejection fraction of around 60 to 80 per cent.
Before the diagnosis, Hirst ignored breathlessness, fatigue and difficulty climbing stairs.
He believed he had “gone soft” in retirement and did not think his heart was seriously affected.
Speaking on the latest Bedside Manners podcast with GP and broadcaster Dr Oscar Duke, Hirst said: “Rugby players spend all their time pretending not to be injured.
"That mentality is so deeply embedded that I ignored breathlessness, fatigue, even struggling to get up the stairs.
"I kept telling myself I’d just ‘gone soft’ in retirement, that I wasn’t as mentally tough as I used to be.
"It never crossed my mind that something was seriously wrong with my heart.”
After diagnosis, he began preparing for the possibility that he might not survive.
Hirst said: “I sorted out my will, made sure the kids were sorted, and tried not to think about what the rest of my life might look like.
"I didn’t let myself feel anything, I just focused on logistics. It was my way of coping with the idea that I might not be around much longer.”
Hirst ran the 2026 London Marathon for the British Heart Foundation to help highlight cardiovascular disease, especially among younger men.
On the podcast, Hirst discusses what it is like to live with heart failure, while Dr Duke and consultant cardiologist Professor Gerry Carr White explain more about cardiomyopathy, diagnosis and treatment.