SUMMARY
- Michael Phelps once showed symptoms of Marfan syndrome.
- The legendary Olympian was urged to get regular EKG tests by his mother and coach Bob Bowman.
Michael Phelps is a name that sports fanatics in the United States of America will forever praise until the end of time. The 38-year-old was a former swimmer who won laurels for himself and the nation. He is commonly known as the man who dominated the Olympics for several years, winning multiple gold medals along the way.
The “Flying Fish” owns 23 Olympic gold medals in swimming. He bagged 27 World Championships, and 16 gold medals in the Pan Pacific Championships. Phelps started training when he was 11 years old under legendary swimming coach Bob Bowman. Today, he is the most decorated Olympian who has ever walked the surface of the earth.
At the age of 27, Michael Phelps announced that he was leaving the sport as he was older and took longer to recover. But he returned in 2014 and bore the flag one last time during the 2016 Summer Olympics. He officially called it quits later that year. However, there were a few issues that Phelps grew concerned about during his career. And a lot of these issues led to him potentially being affected by Marfan syndrome.
Michael Phelps had mild symptoms of Marfan Syndrome
Marfan syndrome is an issue that affects the body’s connective tissues. Without treatment or regular examination, the disease can also be deadly as it can affect the heart as well. Michael Phelps revealed in his book that he was at risk of being diagnosed with the disease. However, he only showed mild symptoms which eventually mellowed down over the years.
Training every day for 6 years, Michael Phelps pic.twitter.com/avg7tYf8dS
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He said, “My heart rate was accelerating, and Bob suggested I see the doctor. Because I was very flexible and had long hands and feet, I had some early symptoms of Marfan syndrome.” The swimmer claimed that he had no idea why his mother and Coach Bowman suggested he got an EKG test done ever so often. They told him it was a good idea to have such tests for the heart being a young athlete.
“I have been tested once a year ever since at Johns Hopkins under the direction of Dr. Peter Roe, and the tissues are strong, the aortic route is clear, and my heart is in good shape,” he added. Michael Phelps claims that he is disease-free. Phelps is now a father of four since his wife, Nicole, recently gave birth to their fourth child.