Six-year-old boy, born with just 'half a heart', startles medicos after completing his first triathlon

He has hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS), a birth defect which affects fewer than 1,000 babies in the United States every year.

Six-year-old boy, born with just 'half a heart', startles medicos after completing his first triathlon
Representational image

New Delhi: A 6-year-old boy in the United States, born with just 'half a heart', has startled the doctors and his family by completing his first triathlon.

As per a report in Daily Mail, Jack Foley, who lives in Long Island, New York, was born with a rare condition that caused half of his heart to stop developing while his mother was pregnant.

He has hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS), a birth defect which affects fewer than 1,000 babies in the United States every year.

The disease affects normal blood flow through the body, and occurs when the left side of a fetus's heart doesn't form correctly during pregnancy.

In Jack's case, the left side of his heart was completely undeveloped, meaning his left atrium and ventricle could not pump blood.

Last month, he completed the Long Beach Children's Triathlon, that saw him swim the 25-yard length of a pool, bike 475ft around a park and then run the 500ft distance around a baseball diamond.

Little Jack had to undergo three surgeries to become normal, which doctors did not expect at all and now he takes a diuretic and a baby aspirin every day.

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