Myocarditis means inflammation of the heart muscle. In the United Kingdom, one young person dies suddenly each week due to undiagnosed myocarditis.

May 21st, 2021 was the day I received a phone call that changed me forever. My little brother, Jake had suddenly passed away earlier that morning. He was 26 years old and left behind a huge hole in mine and our families lives. 

Initially, his cause of death was unknown and as the weeks went by it was determined that Jake had died from myocarditis and pneumonia.

Up until that point, I had never heard what myocarditis was and had very little knowledge of this relatively unknown heart condition.

It can affect anyone at any age and is usually related to recent viral infection. The virus may have gone but the immune system over-reacts causing inflammation that can persist in the heart. Other causes include bacterial infections, certain medications, toxins, and autoimmune disorders. Symptoms are diverse and include chest pain, mimicking a heart attack, difficulty breathing due to weakened heart muscle, palpitation due to electrical rhythm disturbances, fever, and abnormal fatigue.

This is why this year I am running the Manchester Marathon in aid of Myocarditis UK and in memory of my brother, Jake. Myocarditis UK is the UK’s only dedicated myocarditis charity, and their research helps expand knowledge in understanding and finding a cure for myocarditis.

Anyone who knows me knows I hate running and my previous running experience is around 5km if that! 

Training has of course begun in earnest, and I will be posting regular updates of how things are going with links to donate. I hope to raise £500 to help this wonderful charity, to honour my baby brother who was taken too young too soon and to confront my own grief, which to be honest has been bottled up for far too long.

 
Any donation no matter how big or small is much appreciated.

Jim