‘In extraordinary pain’: Libby Trickett update after heart attack saddens fans

Days after revealing she had suffered a heart attack, the Olympic legend shared more.

Just days after going public with the shock news that she had suffered a heart attack, Olympic legend Libby Trickett shared another health update, which led to an outpouring of support from fans.

In a video shared to Instagram on April 17, the mum-of-five revealed that she suffered a spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD) about two months after the birth of her son, Archie, in 2025.

A SCAD is a serious, often emergency condition where an artery wall in the heart tears, blocking blood flow.

Days later, on April 22, Libby shared another update explaining that in between getting tests for her heart, she was also hospitalised for her back.

“I was in extraordinary pain, it required a steroid injection, two nights in hospital and lots of pain medication later, I was able to be released,” the former swimmer shared, adding she had gone through a “tough time personally”.

The media personality went on to say that her health struggle meant she’d been able to be present for an interview with former AFL star Adam Goodes for Being Sportish, the podcast she hosts with her sister-in-law Georgie Trickett.

Georgie was one of many to share a message of support to Libby amid her health woes.

“Broken heart, broken back… Many would have described your February with a fair few more expletives 😜. Your (other) words are too kind – thank you for being the biggest cheerleader!!” she wrote.

“Ohh.. Libby! Oh no, you beautiful person. I’m so sorry you were/are in pain! Sending hugs, good wishes, positives, blessings. We all adore you,” another wellwisher wrote.

“Omg! Glad to see you are back up and at it! Take it easy!” added a third.

Libby has already spoken candidly about how her heart issues will affect her life moving forward.

She appeared visibly shaken in her social media video as she discussed how the road to her diagnosis had been a “challenging” time.

“There’s a lot of uncertainty because there is a certain change of recurrence as well, and they don’t necessarily know why that happens,” she said.

“I will likely be on lifelong medication to manage my heart rate and my blood pressure.

“I need to do moderate cardio exercise, I can’t lift heavy weights, there’s question marks around rollercoasters and all different types of things,” she added.

“It’s been a lot.”