SEASONED five-year NBL1 East basketball player Hannah Griffin signed on with the Penrith Panthers for the 2026 season and was enjoying a break-out year, averaging 20.29 points per game, before suffering a heart condition in May.
“Heading into the Central Coast game on Sunday 24th May, I was experiencing some chest pain and a heavy feeling in my chest, almost like there was 100kg sitting on it,” Hannah said. “I didn’t think too much of it at the time and decided to play.
“As the game went on, the symptoms gradually got worse. I started experiencing heart palpitations, and after halftime, when I tried to warm up again, I became extremely nauseous and dizzy. At that point, I made the decision to sub myself out and went to the bathroom, where I fainted.
“I went to hospital on Monday 25th May for further assessment, where doctors identified a heart condition that required surgery. I underwent heart surgery on Wednesday 27th May and, unfortunately, due to the surgery and recovery process, I’ll be out for the remainder of the season.”
Hannah was in the Westmead Hospital Emergency Department (ED) being monitored for 24 hours, before being admitted on 25th May. She was one of the lucky people admitted at that time, with over 100 other people waiting in the ED at that time for various health emergencies.
She underwent a successful Ablation operation on 27th May and has been off work until this week, resuming strictly light duties as a Support Worker on Monday 22nd June.
Hannah played all of her junior representative basketball at Maitland, before graduating to the NBL1 East team in 2022 and averaging 13.24 points per game.
She was invited to to join the Sydney Flames WNBL squad as a ‘train-on’ in 2023 and subsequently played NBL1 East for the Sydney Comets for a season, before being lured to the Hills Hornets for both the 2024 and 2025 seasons.
Hannah was offered a bigger role at the Panthers for 2026 and jumped at the opportunity for extra court time and more responsibility, repaying the faith of Penrith head coach Liam Cavanagh-Downs by leading the team’s offence with an impressive 20.29 points per game.
## Ablation is a minimally invasive procedure used to destroy abnormal tissue in the body, commonly applied in heart, cancer, and skin treatments. Cardiac Ablation treats arrhythmia
such as atrial fibrillation or tachycardia by destroying small areas of heart tissue that cause irregular electrical signals. Catheters are inserted
through veins to deliver energy to the heart tissue, creating scar tissue that prevents abnormal impulses.
