Defending The Heart
Former England footballing legend Bryan Robson shares his experience of a heart and cardiovascular screening at Tomorrow Wellness and his thoughts on England’s hopes for World Cup success
Heart health is something most of us rarely think about, until something happens to a loved one or it becomes a problem that can’t be ignored. Yet in the UK, cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death, with many conditions developing silently, long before symptoms appear. Every three minutes, a life is lost, with twelve young people dying every week with an undiagnosed heart condition. The encouraging reality is that 90% of cases are preventable, highlighting why early screening matters at any age, especially when it’s not routinely available.
Tomorrow Wellness and the charity Cardiac Risk In The Young have a shared vision to raise awareness that heart and cardiovascular health screenings should be the norm for everyone who needs or wants one to help prevent the preventable.
To help highlight the campaign, ex Manchester United and England footballer, Bryan Robson, visited the Knutsford clinic to undertake the Tomorrow Health Check®, a specialist-led advanced cardiovascular screening. With real time testing and instant results it looked at his heart, lungs and arteries, at rest and under stress.
Bryan shared his motivation for taking part in the screening at Tomorrow Wellness. He explains: “It's really important to have health checks, because the earlier you detect anything, the more chance you have of surviving. It's so important to have places like Tomorrow Wellness and great charities like Cardiac Risk in the Young.”
Whilst at the clinic, 69 year old Bryan took part in a number of dynamic evidence-led tests. The first was a blood pressure check and advanced blood test. He shared, “The blood pressure check and blood test were something I’ve been through throughout my career. Both were done together very quickly and there was no pain and it was interesting to see the results.”
Next up, Bryan had a specialist ultrasound screening of his arteries. He commented: “The arteries screening was really interesting because I'd never seen anything like that before. It's an ultrasound, so there's no pain and I watched the screen as the specialist scientist described the importance of good blood flow and any risks.”
Finally, Bryan took part in a gold standard Cardiopulmonary Exercise Test which is like a full engine systems check, measuring things like your VO2 max and how healthy your heart is. The test is delivered by one of the Tomorrow specialist doctors. He said: ”With the heart test on the bike I felt like I was a player again. I wore a mask to measure my breathing and how my lungs were working, as well as an ECG to monitor my heart. The test was to see how far I could go, increasing the levels on the bike and seeing the measurements and importantly all my data. It was hard work but a lot of fun.”
Having completed all the tests, Bryan believes that screenings like this should be more widely available. He said: “I think it should definitely be available throughout the country, but it's like everything in the NHS, it's all about funding. We are very fortunate to have a place like this in Knutsford, with more locations in the pipeline.”
As an ex-England midfielder, Bryan had an illustrious international career, but how would he balance the current crop of England midfielders in the squad? He stated: “Well, we've got so many good forwards as long as Harry Kane doesn't get injured, so I'd balance up in midfield. Declan Rice is obviously a great player. I think we'll add Anderson at Nottingham Forest and Adam Wharton from Crystal Palace. Jude Bellingham would definitely be in my squad and if he shows that he's really sharp in training, then he'd be in my team.”
Bryan also commented on 16 year old Arsenal player Max Darman, who scored his first Premier League goal in March. He said: “He's got great quality, good pace. Usually, I would say he's maybe a bit too young with no experience to go into a World Cup. But I think if you're good enough and you've proven yourself in the Premiership in a few games like Max has, that he might be a great one to throw into the squad because he probably doesn't fear anything.”
If England makes it to the final, which of the other nations does Bryan think England may be challenging? He said: “I think Spain are a really good team and then you never know from South America. Argentina and Brazil have always had really good teams who compete at the highest level.”
On whether the heat and humidity in North America might affect England compared to some of the Southern Hemisphere, Bryan commented: “European teams never do well in South America. It's really difficult to go down there with the heat and humidity because you're not used to it over here and that's what gives the South American teams a little bit of an advantage.”
And Bryan has a final message for anyone who was thinking about getting a heart screening: “Go and get yourself checked and don't put it off because you never know when it may be too late.”
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