Ex-Portland Thorns defender Rikke Sevecke has made headlines with a sobering call for women's soccer to take heart health seriously. Sevecke, who had to hang up her cleats due to a heart condition, stressed the need for better monitoring procedures in the sport. The Athletic reports that Sevecke, who was capped 54 times for Denmark, retired last month without ever playing for the NWSL side after her move from Everton.
Despite her stellar career, which included a World Cup appearance last year, the discovery of a troubling heart condition during pre-season testing led Sevecke to retire at only 27. According to a personal article by Sevecke published on FIFPro, she had undergone regular health checks throughout her career, some of which "were more comprehensive than others". In routine testing, no indications of extra heartbeats were found—until a 'working ECG' revealed the anomaly just before a fateful planned move to Italy.
The former defender took a variety of tests, including ECGs and MRIs, that surprisingly turned up normal, failing to uncover any defects with her heart. Sevecke highlighted this worrying oversight in a statement obtained by BVM Sports, advocating for intensified heart monitoring. The discovery of extra heartbeats in the pre-World Cup ECG raised her concerns about the adequacy of the testing protocols currently in place in women's football.
With her boots set aside, Sevecke's new goal is to champion the cause of heart health, hoping to enact change in how women's football approaches the issue. "We can’t take chances with players’ health – there needs to be a change," she told FIFPro. Her campaign stresses the importance of more frequent and rigorous heart screenings, including 'working ECGs', which Sevecke believes should become a standard part of medical evaluations, especially considering the high stakes of professional sports.
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