Racing Louisville’s DeMelo shares hyperthyroidism diagnosis

Racing Louisville FC midfielder Savannah DeMelo spoke publicly this week for the first time about being diagnosed with Graves’ disease and hyperthyroidism, describing her struggles managing the conditions last year but expressing confidence that she can continue to perform at a high level.

Attention was drawn to DeMelo’s health during her team’s March 22 road game against Bay FC. DeMelo felt dizzy and tight in the chest in the first half. Her heart rate wasn’t slowing and she struggled to breathe for about three minutes, she said.

Eventually, DeMelo sat down and told the referee she didn’t feel well. She was stretchered off the field at PayPal Park and taken to a local hospital. It was a scary incident for teammates and onlookers, but the event didn’t occur entirely out of the blue.

DeMelo was diagnosed with Graves’ disease and hyperthyroidism last fall, speaking publicly about it for the first time with ESPN.

DeMelo was diagnosed with Graves’ disease and hyperthyroidism last fall, speaking publicly about it for the first time with ESPN.

“Playing a 90-minute game felt unbearable,” DeMelo told ESPN. “I would get to maybe the 25th minute, and I felt like my heart was just like beating so fast, like out of my chest. I felt so out of breath, so out of shape. I didn’t really know what was going on.”

DeMelo, whose breakout 2023 NWSL season led to a spot — and a starting role — on the USWNT’s World Cup team that year despite being uncapped at the time, hadn’t been feeling like herself last year.

One day in September, DeMelo said, she woke up and her Oura Ring — which monitors health and sleeping habits — measured her resting heart rate at 85 beats per minute, about double her usual.

“I said things like, ‘Oh, maybe I need to sleep more. Maybe we were traveling a lot. Maybe I’m not eating enough protein.’ I kind of went through that for a while,” she said.

Then her mom, who is a nurse, came to visit in October and noticed that DeMelo’s thyroid looked visibly enlarged. DeMelo’s mom encouraged her to go have bloodwork done, and that’s when doctors noticed something was wrong.

Hyperthyroidism is a rare condition that speeds up bodily functions, causing symptoms like rapid heart rate and weight loss. About 1 out of 100 Americans aged 12 years and older have hyperthyroidism, according to the National Institutes of Health, though it is more common in women and in people over the age of 60.

Graves’ disease, which DeMelo was also diagnosed with, is an autoimmune disease that can cause hyperthyroidism.

Dr. Jennifer Daily, who is Racing Louisville’s chief medical officer, said the 27-year-old DeMelo is the first athlete in this age range she has worked with who has hyperthyroidism and Graves’ disease. Daily has been involved in the University of Louisville’s athletics program, which includes about 600 student-athletes, for over a decade.

There are also genetic factors: DeMelo’s mom has hypothyroidism, which causes an underactive thyroid.