Lions’ Barry Sanders Announces Unfortunate News

Detroit Lions legend Barry Sanders is no stranger to playing through the pain.

The Hall of Fame running back missed just seven of 160 games he was available for in his 10-year career. However, when it came to a persistent pain in his chest, Sanders sought a second opinion and got the help he needed.

Last Father’s Day, Sanders, 56, was stricken with what he discovered was a heart attack. Since his recovery, Sanders has made the necessary life changes and is advocating for others to do the same.

In a sit-down interview with NBC News’ Savannah Sellers on July 11, Sanders opened up about the experience, which is spotlighted in Amgen/A&E documentary “The Making of a Heart Attack.”

Lions Legend Barry Sanders Opens Up About Heart Attack

Sanders woke up on Father’s Day in 2024, experiencing what he called a burn in his chest that lasted 12 to 15 hours before he went to the hospital.

“(The medical staff) just proceeded to look at my heart (and) continue checking my vitals. And then when the doctor said, ‘You had a heart attack,’ I was just blown away,” Sanders told Sanders. “And they showed me kind of the tear in the heart muscle, and that was the last thing on my mind. But it relates really to so many stories out there because a lot of people don’t understand and know what the symptoms are.

“And I was one of those individuals that didn’t. I didn’t know anything about LDLC or bad cholesterol or anything like that. So, yeah, I was really taken aback when he said that. But it has been a great journey just learning, educating myself, doing this documentary, meeting individuals who’ve had these great stories of resilience and that fighter spirit, and really wanting to get the word out there.”

While he admitted to adding more walking to his lifestyle, along with better eating habits, he advised everyone to check with their physician, regardless of their condition.

“That day when I woke up until later on that evening is when it started to go away to some degree. But everyone—I mean, those were my symptoms,” Sanders said. “But the most important thing is, even before you have symptoms, obviously be checked.

“Talk to your doctor, have that conversation about your LDLC. But in my case, the only symptom was just that sort of heartburn feeling right in the middle of my chest.”

‘Healthier and Happier:’ Sanders Reflects on Health Scare

A year after his heart attack, Sanders reflected on the health scare and the wake-up call he needed entering the next stage of his life.

“It’s definitely made me healthier and happier,” Sanders said in an exclusive interview with CBS Sports last month. “Being the kind of athlete that I was, I would see people walking and I would wonder, like, ‘What kind of workout is that?’ But there’s a thing called a heart healthy workout, where you’re just getting your heart rate up a little bit over a certain period of time, and that’s just really good for your heart.

“There was just a certain ignorance that I had about things like that. But all of it has been a learning process.”