NFL star Barry Sanders reveals he got a heart attack

Former NFL star Barry Sanders talks about the horror he experienced last year and revealed that he was hit by a heart attack during a recruitment trip for one of his sons.

Pro Football Hall of Fame running back shared a social media statement In June 2024 about his recovery after an “unexpected” horror related to his heart that happened during Father’s Day weekend, PEOPLE previously reported.

“I couldn’t believe it, frankly,” Sanders told, 56 CBS Sports In an interview that was published on Friday, June 13. “I thought it was like heartburn, but it just continued.”

1997 NFL etc. told the outlet that he woke up the day for the incident and felt a burn in the chest and ended up leaving the recruiting visit to drive himself to the emergency room in the afternoon, CBS Sports reported. Medical tests soon revealed that he had experienced a heart attack.

“Of all things, I don’t know why, who just never got into my mind,” the father told four to the outlet. “I learn through this process that there are not necessarily any warning signs, unless you do what we encourage people to do, which is to go to the doctor, tested for LDL-C levels or bad cholesterol.”

“It’s the only way to find out if you have high cholesterol. It’s not something you will be able to feel. You don’t have to fit a certain physical profile,” he added.

Now he hopes to help educate others by participating in ”To make a heart attack“A documentary that will include a discussion with a small group of heart attack and survivors of stroke set on Saturday, June 14 at A&E.

“It has really been an education for me, to learn how often this happens all over the United States,” said Sanders, who spent a decade to play for Detroit Lions.

Sanders told CBS Sports that his doctor recommended medicines, diet changes and extra walks to improve his health.

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“As the kind of athlete I was, would I see people go and I would wonder,” What kind of exercise is it? “But there is one thing called a heart -healthy workout, where you only get your heart rate a little over a certain time, and it’s just really good for your heart,” Sanders said. “It was just a certain ignorance I had about such things. But everything has been a learning process.”

He acknowledges that there is no size-fitting health regime and encourages people to consult doctors.

“Sometimes it’s hereditary and it’s not like you’re doing something wrong,” Sanders told CBS Sports. “There are many different stories and examples out there. That is why it is important for people to have that conversation with their doctor.”