Former AFLW player Kate McCarthy, heart scare, grand final, Brisbane Lions, AFLW, commentator, pacer

Former AFLW player, commentator and Brisbane fan Kate McCarthy has revealed she was hospitalized following the Lions’ grand final win last Saturday.

McCarthy worked in the Lions’ 60-point win over the Swans before also watching the Brisbane AFLW side claim a two-point win over Adelaide.

Apparently it made her heart skip a beat when she shared a photo of herself in the hospital wearing a Lions scarf with a lighthearted caption on social media on Monday.

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“If @brisbanelions and @lionsaflw double over the weekend, ventricular tachycardia occurs,” McCarthy said.

“On the mend, but Monday night’s review shows that Pacemaker performs on the big stage in the same way as the Swans.”

McCarthy had the episode at the airport on Monday.

Her lifelong battle for health, which included having a pacemaker fitted at the age of 12, flared up after a busy weekend.

McCarthy was diagnosed with “intermittent 3” heart block when she was four years old and suffered from seizures throughout her formative years.

The former AFLW striker has had a pacemaker since the age of 12 after suffering from seizures during her childhood.

She was first diagnosed with “intermittent 3” heart block after a seizure when she was four or five years old.

But it was a seizure just before she became a teenager that left her parents terrified and anxious to get answers so she could live a normal life.

“When I had my seizures, I would lose consciousness for about 20 to 30 seconds when the seizure occurred and then regain consciousness afterward,” McCarthy said on AthletesVoice.

“I think the most worrying thing for mum and dad was that I was really into sport – I did triathlons, so I swam and cycled a lot – and they were really worried about what would happen if something happened while swimming or cycling would happen.” .

“So the next day I had emergency surgery and they put in a pacemaker and everything was fixed from there. This has never happened since.”

McCarthy played a total of 42 AFLW games between 2017 and 2022.

She played 23 of those games for Brisbane before moving to the Saints and then finishing with the Hawks.

The 31-year-old was an All-Australian in 2017 and the Lions’ top goalkicker that same year.