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Life in the National
Football League may be exciting, but it is also
physically and emotionally demanding. The Founder and
Director of the Living Heart Foundation (LHF), Arthur “Archie”
Roberts, MD, played briefly, while going to medical
school, as a back-up QB in the mid-1960’s with the
Cleveland Browns and the Miami Dolphins. He later became
a well-known heart surgeon for over 20 years. During that
period, although he personally felt pretty good, trouble
was brewing inside his body. He rarely saw his doctor,
discovered he had high blood cholesterol, and put on a
little too much weight. One day, while speaking to other
doctors, he unexpectedly had a stroke. Fortunately, his
stroke was mild and reversible. He had a second chance
with the rest of his life and is committed to helping
players avoid the mistakes that he made. From these life
experiences, the players health program or “Shape-a-Life
Program” was born
The LHF, a non-profit entity, founded by Archie in 2001, uses its established nationwide healthcare network to provide technically advanced, voluntary, health screenings for active and retired professional football players at regional participating medical facilities within major geographical areas around the country. The LHF works closely with the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) to plan and deliver the health screening program. The American College of Cardiology (ACC) and its Chapters assist the Foundation by providing skilled personnel to assist at the screenings and expert medical planning to strengthen program content. A program goal is to offer a CV health screening program designed to improve the early identification of health risk in these former elite athletes, without a financial charge to the players for the screenings. An example of a category of football players who might benefit most from our health screening would include players of very large body mass who would be expected to have, or soon develop, a variety of co-morbidities including hypertension, diabetes, and elevated cholesterol. Such conditions are highly associated with heart disease and stroke. It will also be interesting to correlate such medical co-morbidities and specific health screening findings with the extent of athletic injuries encountered during their careers. Regularly scheduled repeat screening tests will provide the LHF with the ability to define health risk stratification for the players. This knowledge will empower them to learn about ways to limit the impact of evolving health problems that may occur as they actively complete and subsequently age in their lives after football. In some ways, the transitional time from active to retired player, and the subsequent several year period, may be a particularly vulnerable period for many former elite football players. Click here for more on this story
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