NFL legend Barry Sanders reveals he suffered a heart attack in 2024

Barry Sanders is shedding some light on the major health scare he suffered in 2024. Last June, the NFL legend publicly announced that he had suffered a heart-related “health scare,” and now he’s revealed that it was a heart attack that happened while he was attending a recruiting visit for his son, per CBS Sports.

“I thought it was like heartburn, but it just kind of persisted,” Sanders stated, regarding the health scare via Bryan DeArdo of CBS Sports. The all-time great running back opened up about his experience in an upcoming documentary The Making of a Heart Attack, which will premiere on Saturday, June 14 at 1 p.m. on A&E. 

Per CBS Sports, Sanders woke up that morning with what he described as a burning sensation in his chest. “After leaving the recruiting visit early, Sanders drove himself to the emergency room later that afternoon,” DeArdo wrote. “Tests revealed that Sanders’ enzyme levels were ‘really high and getting higher.’ He then underwent a heart catheter procedure, which revealed that he had indeed suffered a heart attack.”

It was a shocking revelation for the Detroit Lions legend: “Of all things, I don’t know why, that just never entered my mind,” Sanders said, per 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.” 

Thankfully, Sanders added that his health has improved over the past year. He’s attributing that to numerous factors, such as medications, dietary changes and additional walking, all on the advice of his doctor.

“It’s definitely made me healthier and happier,” Sanders elaborated, via CBS Sports. “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.”

Alas, the football world is grateful that Barry Sanders survived his heart attack and has now become an advocate to educate the masses on the matter. He’s continuing to make a major difference, remaining an inspiration to many.