Powerlifter with heart condition in championships

A student with a hereditary heart condition has been selected to compete at the Commonwealth Powerlifting Championships.

Hayden Simmons, from Portishead in north Somerset, is representing Team England in the bench press competition in October - set to take place in Sun city, north of Johannesburg in South Africa.

Mr Simmons was diagnosed with an aortic aneurysm when he was eight years old, and underwent a separate heart surgery during his A-levels.

Speaking to BBC Radio Bristol, he said: "The doctors who treated me during my childhood - I know they're all very proud of me. It's such a good feeling and I am very, very happy with the point I have got to."

Despite doctors advising him to stick to "low impact" activities, Mr Simmons began powerlifting during his second year at the University of Bristol.

He is currently completing a Master's degree in Translational Cardiovascular Medicine, which he said he had chosen after spending much of his childhood "in and out" of hospitals.

When Mr Simmons was 10 months old, his father unexpectedly died due to an Aortic Dissection.

Following his father's passing, he underwent multiple tests to check whether the condition was hereditary.

When he was eight years old, it was discovered that he too was developing an aneurism in his aorta.

"I was always told when growing up that if I had any chest pains, I should go straight to hospital," he said.

"I think this is probably why an impending sense of doom is a common symptom for those growing up with heart conditions."

Mr Simmons said being diagnosed with an aortic aneurism was "more common than you'd think" but he felt there was "not enough awareness".

He added doctors "may try and repair it via an operation" in years to come but said it was probably not something he would want to do if it remained "low risk".

Mr Simmons described powerlifting as an "adrenaline rush" and said it is a great feeling when you get the weight "off your chest and lock it out".

He said he would not have believed it if someone had told him a few years ago that he would be representing Team England in the bench press powerlifting championships.

"I would have said surely not, that can't be me," he added.

Mr Simmons said the friends and people he had met while training had been "really great" and had given him a sense of community.