There was a chance I wouldn’t wake up from operation that...

TEAM GB icon Roger Black has admitted he was afraid he wouldn't wake up from the operation that saved his life. Black, 58, underwent open heart surgery last month on a condition he was been living with for over 47 years. The Olympic star is a two-time 4x400m relay world champion and winner of two silver medals at the 1996 Atlanta Games.

Image Credit: The Sun [Man in hospital gown giving thumbs up.]

But despite that level of physical fitness, Black has been dealing with a congenital heart condition throughout his entire career. Black had no choice but to turn to surgery after he was told that the severe heart-valve disease could cause him to collapse at any moment.

Image Credit: The Sun [Roger Black celebrating his silver medal in the 400 meters at the Atlanta Olympics.]

He told the Mail: "The doctors said I could be out on a jog one day and my aorta could burst and I would die – they didn’t quite put it like that, but that’s what they were saying". Despite the risk of leaving things be, Black was still hesitant over surgery - explaining that he was nervous that he might not wake up from the operation.

Image Credit: The Sun [Roger Black of Great Britain accepting his silver medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.]

He added: "My consultant called me and said: 'The time has come.'. "But it didn’t really sink in until I got the hospital letter. I knew this needed to happen, but was I scared? Absolutely. "I felt very vulnerable. The chance of me not waking up afterwards was less than 2 per cent – but that’s the bit I was scared of.".

Fortunately Black was okay after a successful operation and is now beginning the road to recovery. He has been left with an 11-inch wound running down his chest, which he has described as "painful, but not terrible". While he also has to take aspirin to prevent blood clotting, statins to manage increased cholesterol levels, and other medication to stabilise a temporary heart rhythm disturbance.

Black could have missed the issue completely if it wasn't for an annual echocardiogram last August that showed he needed the surgery. The Commonwealth Games gold medallist had put symptoms of tiredness down to "a sign I was becoming an old git". And he wouldn't have had his regular heart checkups if it weren't for his faulty valve being detected when he was just 11 years old by a school nurse during a stethoscope check of his heart.