Barry Sanders reveals he suffered heart attack last year, hopes to raise awareness
Barry Sanders revealed in an interview with CBS Sports he suffered a heart attack last June during Father's Day weekend while on a recruiting visit for his son.
At the time, the former Detroit Lions superstar running back publicly announced on social media he had experienced a heart-related "heath scare," although Sanders has since opened up about the medical emergency in "The Making of a Heart Attack," an A&E special that will premiere Saturday at 1 p.m. ET and will highlight the hidden risks of heart attacks and strokes.
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"I couldn't believe it, honestly," Sanders, 56, told CBS Sports. "I thought it was like heartburn, but it just kind of persisted."
Sanders explained in the interview that he woke up that day with a burning sensation in his chest. Before his son's recruiting visit wrapped, he drove himself to the emergency room, where tests indicated that Sanders' enzyme levels were alarmingly high and still increasing.
A heart catheter procedure determined that Sanders had actually suffered a heart attack.
"Of all things, I don't know why, that just never entered my mind," Sanders said, via CBS Sports. "I'm learning through this process that there aren't necessarily any warning signs, unless you do what we're encouraging people to do, which is to go the doctor, get tested for LDLC levels, or bad cholesterol. That's the only way to find out if you have high cholesterol. It's not something you're going to be able to feel. You don't have to fit a certain physical profile."
Sanders' experience will be unpacked in the documentary, as will the stories of other heart attack and stroke survivors.
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Sanders told CBS Sports his health has improved in the year since the incident, thanks to medication, dietary changes and enhanced exercise habits, such as more frequent walking.
While everyone's heart health is different, Sanders is encouraging people to talk to their doctors about it.
The Hall of Famer will always have a place in football lore, but now he's carving a space off the field as a heart-health advocate.
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