Man loses wife and son to same heart condition: ‘I feel robbed’

A Glasgow man has spoken of his grief after losing both his son and wife to the same heart condition.

Craig Murray, 59, described feeling "robbed" after his son, Chris, and wife, Linda, both died from hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), a genetic disease.

Chris was just 22 when he collapsed and died from a sudden cardiac arrest at work in 2017.

Seven years later, Linda was admitted to hospital in May 2024 for treatment related to fluid retention, a side effect of her HCM medication.

Her condition worsened, and she died on May 30.

Adding to Mr Murray's grief is the fact that his wife was due to become a grandmother this year. The couple's other son, Craig Jnr, and his wife are expecting a baby this summer.

“She is due on what would have been Linda’s 59th birthday, on July 20,” Mr Murray said.

“That’s given us some comfort. It was like a message or a sign from her.”

He said: “I feel robbed, having lost my wife and son to heart disease.

“I’m not the victim, Linda and Chris are, but they still had so much to do.

“Linda would have loved to have been a grandma; she would have been the best grandparent. She’ll never get to see her grandchild and that would have given her such a boost.”

Mr Murray said his wife had been diagnosed with HCM when she was 30 and their son was suspected of having it from the age of three, but they had not realised the “severity” of the condition.

He added: “Linda’s mum had the same condition as her and she died two years before her, having experienced the same difficult symptoms.

“It also took Linda’s granddad, and Chris. She knew she had a ticking time bomb and that we could lose her at any time. She had to be really brave.”

Following their son’s death, the Murray family became ardent supporters of the British Heart Foundation (BHF), raising thousands of pounds for the charity.

Mr Murray said: “The research BHF funds can help other people to have a different outcome.

“If that could be Linda and Chris’s legacy, helping to inspire fundraising or some sort of breakthrough with these heart conditions, it would mean a lot.”

Mr Murray was speaking ahead of the launch of the BHF’s new 10-year strategy which aims to “revolutionise” the way heart disease and stroke are prevented and treated.