Mark Ramprakash tells James Moore how a family shock inspired him to look after his own health more carefully – he recalled the day in 2012 that changed his life forever
Top cricketer and Strictly Come Dancing star Mark Ramprakash can still vividly recall the fear he felt when his father, Deonarine, was rushed to hospital with a stroke in 2012.
“It was scary, because dad had the stroke then tried to make a phone call, but his speech was impaired. Luckily, we got him in an ambulance and off to the hospital. You’re thinking all kinds of things at that stage.” Thankfully Deonarine, then aged 70, recovered, but doctors identified that, along with diabetes and high blood pressure, he was also suffering from high cholesterol, a likely factor in causing the stroke.
While Mark’s mother is Caucasian, Deonarine is Indo-Guyanese, and the batsman now understands that this heritage puts him at higher risk of inheriting cardiovascular issues too. “There’s high cholesterol in the general population,” Mark explains, “but in particular among people of South Asian heritage, who seem to have more chance of having a stroke or cardiovascular event, so that hit home.”
It has spurred the ex-England batter to support the Get Back in the Game campaign, launched by Novartis UK and Heart UK, to raise awareness of cholesterol and heart health. The 53-year-old says: “I think I’ve not really been aware of cholesterol in the past⦠and the different types of cholesterol.”