Kanu, Eriksen, Mwepu and other footballers who had heart problems

Today (Monday), Zambian international Enock Mwepu received the disappointing news of his retirement at the age of 24. The 24-year-old was just six years into his professional career but was forced into early retirement due to a heart condition. 

Mwepu's club, Brighton Hove and Albion, announced in a statement on their social media pages that Mwepu had to retire from active football due to a hereditary heart condition.

The Seagulls revealed there was no other choice for Mwepu than to retire as the condition could get worse over time if he continued playing, which could cause a fatal cardiac arrest.

It is a disappointing way to end a promising young career, but it is also a situation Mwepu appreciates, as it could have been worse if it was not diagnosed on time. 

Mwepu is not the first player to suffer from a heart condition, although some had more luck while others were not that lucky. 

Pulse Sports take a look at some of the players who also suffered from heart-related issues. 

There is no better place to start than with Kanu Nwankwo. Kanu had to put his career on hold due to a heart defect. The defect was found during his medical ahead of his move to Inter Milan from Ajax in 1996. 

Kanu had just led Nigeria to gold in the male football event of the Atlanta 96 Olympics, but his medical at Inter revealed a serious heart defect. 

The former Nigerian international underwent surgery following the diagnosis, but luckily for Kanu, the situation did not stop his career. 

Although his time at Inter Milan did not go according to plan, Arsenal took a risk on the Nigerian by signing the Nigerian in 1999. 

It was a big risk to sign Kanu then due to his heart issue, but it all worked out perfectly as he went on to become a cult hero at the club. 

Kanu won two league titles and two FA Cups with the Gunners. The former Ajax man continued playing after leaving Arsenal, with spells at West Brom and Portsmouth, where he won the FA Cup. 

Former Argentina striker Sergio Aguero is another player that was a victim of heart-related issues. Aguero first noticed the issue in Barcelona's draw against Alaves last year.

The former Atletico Madrid striker had to leave the pitch after complaining about pain in his chest. He subsequently missed three months of action as doctors had to find out what went wrong. 

Following further tests, it was discovered Aguero had a cardiac arrhythmia – or irregular heartbeat. 

The situation meant Aguero had to call time on his football career. But despite quitting football, Aguero still has a chip in his heart which notifies the doctor if there is an irregularity in his heartbeat. 

The decision to quit football was a hard one for Aguero, but unlike other players, Aguero had a largely successful career, winning numerous titles with Manchester City. 

Christian Eriksen 

No football fan will ever forget the disturbing moment of Euro 2020: Eriksen's body lying lifeless on the ground. The former Ajax man had the whole football world worried after he collapsed unchallenged in Denmark's clash against Finland at Parken Stadium in Copenhagen.

 It was an unpleasant and nervous situation for everyone, but luckily Eriksen's life was revived. At that moment, many thought his football career as a professional footballer was over. 

However, remarkably, the Danish international returned to active football seven months later, although with the aid of a pacemaker. 

When Eriksen suffered his cardiac arrest, he was on the books of Inter Milan. But his contract had to be terminated as he was not allowed to play with a pacemaker in Italy. 

However, Brentford offered him an opportunity in the Premier League by offering him a six-month contract. Eriksen had a successful spell with The Bees, but unfortunately for the club, he had to leave in the summer for Manchester United. 

Like Eriksen, Blind also collapsed on the pitch, although the training pitch. While he was not clinically dead like Eriksen, it was still an unpleasant situation for his Ajax teammates. Blind's collapse was not just once but twice before tests showed that the Netherlands' star was suffering from Myocarditis.

However, despite the two incidents, Blind is still playing for Ajax, although with a pacemaker. 

Before Eriksen, the most notable incident involving a player's collapse on the football pitch was Fabrice Muamba. The former England U-21 star collapsed on the pitch in a match between Bolton and Tottenham Hotspur in 2012.

Muamba's situation was a traumatic incident as he literally died but was revived miraculously. 

Muamba's heart stopped working for 78 minutes, and had to be kept under anaesthesia in intensive care. Although he miraculously recovered from the traumatic experience, Muamba never played football again. 

Marc Vivien-Foe's case is sad and tragic because, unlike the other players above, Foe did not survive his heart attack. The former Cameroonian international collapsed without any challenge in Cameroon's Confederations Cup clash against Colombia in 2013. 

Immediately, paramedics rushed to the pitch to resuscitate him, but he had to be rushed off the pitch, where he received mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and oxygen.

However, he never recovered, dying minutes later on his arrival at the hospital. An autopsy later revealed the cause of death to be hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. 

Foe's death remains one of the saddest moments in football, especially on the pitch. 

As a child, there was this folklore that Samuel Okwaraji died in Nigeria's 100-1 loss to India. However, that is not the truth. Although Okwaraji died on the pitch, it was not in Nigeria's clash against India because the match never happened. 

Okwaraji died in 1989 after collapsing in Nigeria's World Cup qualifier against Angola in Lagos. Like Foe, the cause of death was also hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.