Famed NFL running back discloses experiencing a heart attack

Barry Sanders, the Pro Football Hall of Famer and Heisman Trophy winner, suffered a heart attack last year, he has now revealed.

In a previous acknowledgment last June, 56-year-old Sanders mentioned a health issue, but it was during a recent interview with CBS Sports that he revealed he had experienced a heart attack. 

Speaking with CBS Sports, Sanders said he’s used the experience as an opportunity to get healthier.

Sanders told CBS, ‘It’s definitely made me both healthier and happier. Given my background as an athlete, I used to see people just walking and would wonder, ”What kind of workout is that?” 

However, there’s something known as a heart-healthy workout, where simply elevating your heart rate slightly over a set period proves to be really beneficial for your heart.’

Sanders goes into great detail in his upcoming A&E special, The Making of a Heat Attack. 

Barry Sanders, the retired NFL superstar and Heisman Trophy winner, suffered a heart attack

Sanders was known as one of the NFL’s premiere stars. He was ultimately inducted into Canton

At the time, Sanders thought he was just having heartburn until it continued to persist an abnormal amount of time.

Sanders was attending his son’s recruiting visit at an unidentified school when he began feeling the burning in his chest. After abruptly leaving the visit, Sanders drove himself to the hospital, where tests revealed elevated enzyme levels.

He then had a heart catheter procedure, which lead to the revelation that he did, indeed, suffer a heart attack.

‘Of all things, I don’t know why, that just never entered my mind,’ Sanders said. ‘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.’

Many would obviously be surprised to hear that Sanders – an athlete so gifted he could dunk a basketball despite being 5-foot-8 – could have heart problems. But as he’s learned, there are many causes of heart disease. 

‘Sometimes it’s hereditary and it’s not like you’re doing anything wrong,’ Sanders said. ‘There’s a lot of different stories and examples out there. That’s why it’s important for people to have that conversation with their doctor.’ 

Sanders, considered to be one of the greatest running backs of all-time, spent all 10 seasons of his career with the Lions from 1989-98. 

Barry Sanders played for the Lions from 1989-98 and put together a Hall of Fame career

He was a six-time All-Pro and the 1997 MVP as he topped 1,300 yards in all but one of his seasons. 

His 15,269 rushing yards are the fourth-most all-time, behind only Emmitt Smith, Walter Payton and Frank Gore.

However, Sanders shocked fans when he retired at just 31 years old, coming off of a season in which he posted a monster stat line of 1,491 rushing yards.

He explained in the Amazon documentary ‘Bye Bye Barry’ released last year that he no longer had a passion for the game.

‘There was nothing really left to play for,’ he said, via CBS Sports. 

‘I didn’t see us as any kind of a serious Super Bowl contender. … I felt like I was making a pretty clear decision. I just felt like, in my mind, this is pretty much it.’