Hearts and Dymonds - 7th Oct 09

Players who are going to participate in a World Cup Finals or European Championship tournament are required to undergo cardiac screening in the 12 months prior to competition in order to minimise the chances of future tragedies.

For many of Chelsea's internationals, this effectively means undergoing heart tests every two years. The club has extended it to all players plus selected staff and in the past week, the latest round of screening took place.

As one of the country's leading experts in the field and a life-long and dedicated Chelsea supporter, there is no-one better qualified to carry out the work than Duncan Dymond. Chelseafc.com spoke to the Barts Hospital and Harley Street cardiologist at Cobham at the end of his day.

'The abnormalities we are looking for can occur for the first time even in adult life, often beyond the age of 40,' Dymond explained.

'So we have been coming down here every two years since Jose Mourinho's first season. Before that we saw one or two players. Any new players we tend to see before they sign.

'The high profiles tragedies that have occurred, if these boys weren't doing that level of exercise they might not have come to grief so what we are looking for are conditions which are sometimes very subtle electrical faults which you don't notice unless you scrutinise the results very carefully.'

'This is not a knee jerk reaction to the tragedies that have occurred in football,' adds Chelsea Football Club's chief medical officer Bryan English. 'It is because there are areas in sport where a basic test can be done to 99.9 per cent uncover what could end up being a tragic event.

'When I organise these tests the players want it doing and I think out of respect for their professional colleagues that have died they feel the least they can do is go through the tests. It is not 100 per cent cover but it more or less guarantees they are not going to have a cardiac event on the field of play.'

Dymond, who attends every home game as a fan and is a veteran the 1970 FA Cup Final and replay, plus many a European trip abroad deals with athletes across many sporting fields and identifies the players as not just incredibly fit but rare specimens biologically.

'They are amazing. I said to Frank [Lampard] that he could run The Derby and probably win. They have very powerful hearts and slow resting heart rates. The muscle becomes slightly thicker and the chamber size a bit bigger.

'Elite rowers and Tour De France cyclists have resting heart rates at some times below 30. None of the Chelsea guys we see are below 30 although one is 34 and they are all in the 40s. They are all fantastically fit.'

All football fans know what watching their team can do to their own heart rate and Dymond has gone as far as putting numbers to it.

'I went with my son to watch Chelsea play Man United at Villa Park in the semi-final of the FA Cup in 1996 and for a book I was writing I wired myself up. When Ruud Gullit scored just before half-time my heart rate was 180 bpm so it was incredibly fast. Certainly two-and-a-half times the normal.'

Hearts and Dymonds | Chelsea Football Club