Former West Ham and Crystal Palace midfielder Cheikhou Kouyate has retired from football after battling with a secret heart condition.The Senegalese made 296 appearances over a decade in the Premier League, with Nottingham Forest his last club in England back in 2024.Kouyate made 129 Premier League appearances for West HamGettyAfter a year out of football following his departure from the City Ground, Kouyate most recently played for Turkish side Amedspor. He spent just a few months there after joining in the summer of 2025, making eight appearances before leaving in January.Kouyate then almost returned to former club Anderlecht this summer, but was advised to stop playing as he revealed this was due to a heart defect he had been dealing with for his entire career.Kouyate reveals secret health battleSpeaking to Senegalese channel Walf TV, Kouyate said: “I suffered from this heart problem since birth. I played with it.“In England, it was monitored every six months. I had medical check-ups at West Ham, Crystal Palace, and Nottingham Forest. Every time I had the tests, the problem reappeared.“The doctors always pointed out the problem to me, but I took responsibility myself.“I signed the insurance papers stating that anything that might happen to me would be my responsibility.“Anderlecht called me [in the summer] to play there and also to start training as a coach. But after the medical examination, the doctor asked me to stop playing football.”While Kouyate suffered from several minor injuries during his career he did not appear to miss any action because of his heart issue.And the ex-Senegal international revealed this was because his condition would only flare up in certain circumstances.Kouyate enjoyed a fruitful Premier League career despite concealing a heart conditionGettyHe explained: “The problem is at high altitude. If I play in the heat, it hurts terribly, during and after matches.“It feels like a side stitch, for about five minutes, and then it goes away. When it happens, after the match, I get painful cramps. After 24 hours, it stops.“I never said anything. I didn’t want to be forced to stop early.“I never told my family, not even the national team doctors. They didn’t know about my problem.”Kouyate’s versatility saw him become a reliable presence during his ten-year stay in the Premier League.Capable of playing in both midfield and at centre-back, he first moved to English football when he joined West Ham from Anderlecht in 2014.Kouyate helped Nottingham Forest to secure Premier League safety in his two years at the City GroundGettyFour years in east London followed, where Kouyate was a virtual ever-present and made 147 appearances overall, scoring 15 goals.In 2018, the versatile star moved across London to join Crystal Palace, spending four years at Selhurst Park where he featured 141 times.Newly-promoted Nottingham Forest came calling in 2022 as they sought top-flight experience, and Kouyate provided exactly that to help them to establish themselves in the Premier League.A move to Leeds was mooted after he left Forest upon the expiry of his contract in 2024 before an undisclosed medical issue put a stop to this, and he instead spent a year out of football before eventually enjoying his last spell in Turkey with Amedspor.On the international stage, Kouyate earned 92 caps for Senegal and represented his country at both the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.Arguably the peak of his international career came in 2022, when the midfielder tasted Arica Cup of Nations glory in Cameroon.