26 February 2024 , 16:07
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A young footballer with a deadly heart condition has been allowed to keep on playing his favourite sport - thanks to a special vest he wears on the pitch.
Harry Law, eight, was born with an inherited a heart condition called obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. The condition, which his dad Jay also suffers from, causes a thickening of the heart muscle and can lead to sudden cardiac arrest. Harry's dad feared his son would not be able to continue playing the sport safely and sought the advice of doctors.
The fitted an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) in his chest in January in order to keep the condition under control. The device continuously checks the heartbeat and delivers electric shocks when needed to restore a regular heart rhythm. And he was back again playing striker for his local team at the weekend after being given a special vest with an inbuilt 'shield' to protect the ICD in his chest.
Dad, Jay, said Harry would have been "devastated" if he couldn't carry on playing football, as a striker who has scored 120 goals since he began in 2021. Jay, 35, said: "Harry loves his football and would be devastated without it - it's his whole world. We wanted something which would protect him from being knocked about or being hit with a ball so he could just play without being worried."
Harry in his protective vest which protects his ICD when playing sports (Jamie Law/SWNS)Jay also had an ICD fitted when he was 15 after being diagnosed with the congenital heart condition and fundraised for a special vest to protect his son's chest. He had his for 20 years before it delivered an electric shock to him for the first time at 33. While Harry, from Weeley, Essex, is currently asymptomatic, Jay suffers from an irregular heart beat (arrhythmia) as a result of the condition and understands first hand what it can be like.
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He said: "I had a shock at Harry's football tournament last summer - they won on a penalty shoot out and I was celebrating with the team. It feels like someone has just punched you really hard in the back but it can absolutely save your life from cardiac arrest." Harry was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy when he was three after he and his sister Bella, now 12, underwent genetic testing to see if they shared their dad's condition.
Harry was fitted with his ICD after Jay expressed his concerns to doctors at Great Ormond Street about Harry playing football. Jay said: "They told us to look at it like a safety net - like a trampoline, you might never need it but it's there. They don't expect it to ever go off with Harry as he is currently asymptomatic but a lot can change in a short space of time, especially when he hits puberty."
Harry is a promising young footballer (Jamie Law/SWNS)The procedure involves surgeons cutting a five inch incisions along the left side of the chest and slotting in the ICD under the muscle. The ICD has an eight to ten battery life and it is replaced under local anaesthetic. Jay added that the device can be adjusted, especially for those who play sports.
He said: "Harry went for an exercise test last week and the doctors found the machine wasn't identifying between a dangerous heart rate and high heart rate. They've adjusted the settings to allow the ICD to know whether his heart is just beating fast from exercise. It was lucky he has been recovering for the last six weeks otherwise he might have ended up with an unnecessary shock."
In preparation for Harry getting back on the pitch, Jay began to research vests his son could wear in order to keep his device safe. The vest which Harry now wears is custom-made by the company Vital Beat, and offers protective clothing for medical devices. It holds a soft and flexible sports shield made of D3O material which provides an extra layer of protection.
Harry Law with his Elmden Rovers under nines team mates (Jamie Law/SWNS)Jay, who coaches Harry's under nines team Elmden Rovers, said he had originally asked in the coaches' Whatsapp group where he might find a protective sports vest. He encouraged to set up a GoFundMe page to raise the funds for the vest, beating their initial target of £200 by reaching £560, which meant they could buy more than one.
On Harry's recovery, he said: "He's not made a fuss of anything and he's handled the pain better than I did. He went back to playing football last weekend and it was great to see him to happy. Harry really looks up to Christian Eriksen who was fitted with a similar device and I think it's helped him to get back on track."
Harry's ICD is also similar to the one Luton Town defender Tom Lockyer had fitted following his collapse on the pitch after a cardiac arrest in December.