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Detroit Lions legend Barry Sanders has let a terrifying personal experience guide him to advocate for a very important cause

Originally posted on A to Z Sports | By Ryan Roberts | Last updated Jun 30, 2025 6:46 PM ET

For ten years, former Detroit Lions running back Barry Sanders dazzled NFL fans each and every Sunday. The legend opted to retire at the age of 30, but still managed to total 18,190 all-purpose yards and 109 touchdowns while putting together a Hall of Fame level career. What he was able to accomplish in such a short amount of time was truly something to behold.

Even in retirement, Sanders' love for the city of Detroit has not faltered or faded away. He has also been a great advocate for several causes close to him over the years, including his campaign against heart health most recently. In a partnership with Amgen, which is a biotechnology company that engages in the discovery, development, manufacture, and marketing of human therapeutics, Sanders is attempting to spread more awareness for the cause.

Sanders was a part of an interview with A to Z Sports Detroit Lions, and he spoke in depth about heart health, his partnerships, and the documentary he was recently a part of that was just released.

"I’m really excited to be able to partner with Amgen in this documentary. The documentary is called The Making of a Heart Attack, and it's going to be shown June 14 at 1 PM Eastern Time, and it just follows my story. It follows the story of several other individuals who've had heart attacks and strokes, and I'm excited about it because I think it's very informative and a lot of people will really identify with it.

I'm excited to be just a heart health advocate, just to be able to get the word out there. It impacts so many individuals, and it can happen at any time. It happens so frequently. So we just need to be able to let people know that there's certainly help by going to getting tested. Go to your doctor, ask about your LDL, C levels, or bad cholesterol levels, and know where you are. You can find out more if you go to attack heart disease.com.

My heart incident happened a year ago, mid June of 2024, and throughout that process of recovery, I ended up being introduced to Amgen. They were working on this documentary."

If you haven't yet seen The Making of a Heart Attack, it is streaming now on A&E. The documentary follows Sanders as he brings together four others who faced a heart attack or stroke to uncover hidden risks.

Throughout the interview with A to Z Sports, Sanders spoke so much about his own experience with heart health. This is a cause that means a lot to the Lions legend, and his involvement won't be ending anytime soon. Along with others, this is Barry's story, his experience. That experience is meant to learn from.

Make sure to visit Amgen.com for more information on Sander's story, and education on how to help yourself. You can also visit the Amgen YouTube channel, which is a great source of educational materials, and general information for what the company provides.

This article first appeared on A to Z Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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