Rugby star Hassane Kolingar reveals the seemingly innocent act that led to him going into cardiac arrest aged just 26

French rugby international Hassane Kolingar has revealed the seemingly innocent act he claims led to him suffering a heart attack at the age of 26.

Kolingar recently returned to play for his club Racing 92, but just months ago the loosehead prop feared his career was over when he suffered cardiac arrest at a teammate’s wedding.

‘When I got there [to the wedding]”I put a snus against my gums and sat down while I waited for the bride and groom,” Kolingar told Midi Olympique.

Snus, also called ‘dip’ or smokeless tobacco, is a moistened powdered tobacco pouch usually held in the mouth between the lip and gums, which releases nicotine into the bloodstream.

“It’s not illegal – it has tobacco in it, but it’s really rubbish, I think,” Kolingar said.

‘At one point I burst out laughing and immediately felt a pressure on my chest. My heart was beating very hard and I was sweating a lot; seeing stars.

The footy star (pictured wearing a heart monitor) said he ‘felt like someone was sticking needles in my head’ during the terrifying ordeal

‘I thought I was just having a hypoglycemic episode and so as not to ruin the ceremony, I stepped aside. My eardrums were pounding, it felt like someone was sticking needles in my head.

“I was in pain, very bad pain and my eyes rolled back,” Kolingar added. “I went into cardiac arrest.”

The young athlete suffered from tachycardia, which happens when the heart rate increases.

As a result, Kolingar required major surgery to clean a scar on his heart.

‘Because my heart rate wouldn’t go down, the firefighters put me into a coma. To wake me up, they shocked me four times,” he said.

‘The aim of the operation was to remove the scar I had on my heart since birth.

‘To do that, [the surgeon] had to cause another cardiac arrest.’