A young Scots doctor who underwent major heart surgery says his own experience has inspired him to take on six years of training to become a cardiologist and help others.

Dr Stuart Hutchison endured a life-saving operation on his aorta, the body's main blood vessel, after it got so big it was at risk of bursting.

The 30-year-old underwent surgery in April to stop his aorta rupturing -- which would have been life-threatening -- after doctors discovered it had significantly grown.

Dr Hutchison also suffers from an abnormal aortic valve, which he discovered when he was 16.

The aortic valve allows oxygen-rich blood to flow from the heart to the aorta and prevents the blood from flowing back into the heart.

The defect means Dr Hutchison's valve may not be completely effective at stopping blood from leaking back into the heart.

Now he says the frightening experience has spurred him on to start training to become a consultant cardiologist -- which could take up to six years.

Dr Hutchison splits his time between working at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh and the city's Western General Hospital as a trainee cardiologist.

He said that his experience of going through surgery stands him in good stead when it comes to explaining the procedure to other patients.

"I will admit I was frightened about getting the surgery done and what was going to happen but actually the care I received and the experience of it made it a lot less frightening than I had built it up to be", he said.

"That's what I would say to anyone who was potentially needing to get heart surgery done in the future and I think it has given me a lot more insight into it from a patient perspective.

"I do feel able to answer patients' questions honestly if they ask me."

The cause of this problem is unclear, but it is the most common congenital heart defect.

Dr Hutchison, who is due to get married next year, said that his interest in pursuing a career in medicine comes from his family background.

He added: "I'm from a very medical family. My dad's a dentist, my brother's a dentist and my mum's a nurse, so it's always been something I've been interested in.

"But I think certainly having been around healthcare when I was younger and then having more involvement with it laterally as I've been getting this heart condition checked up on, made me more interested in the cardiology side of things.

"It was always something I had an eye on but I think it [my heart problem] turned up my interest in that."

James Cant, director at British Heart Foundation Scotland, paid tribute to Hutchison. He said: "Here's a young man who receives the devastating news, as a teenager, that he has a heart defect.

"He chooses to dedicate his career to cardiology and just three months after heart surgery he's on the wards in Edinburgh treating people like himself, telling them with great honesty that he knows how they feel, because he does know.

"Not only that, he's got an eye on the future of heart medicine and he's raising funds for pioneering cardiovascular research carried out by BHF-funded scientists across Scotland. Stuart is a total inspiration and we wish him the very best with his cardiology career."