Living Heart Foundation Promotes General Wellness

NLIVING HEART

“The cardiovascular problems like hypertension, stroke, and heart attack are often experienced in conjunction with sleep disorders, such as sleep apnea, often associated with obesity or large body size.

FOUNDATION

P R O M O T E S G E N E R A L W E L L N E S S

DR. ARCHIE ROBERTS, FORMER CARDIAC SURGEON, NFL PLAYER AND CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER AND PRESIDENT OF THE PRO-PLAYER HEALTH ALLIANCE, FOUNDED THE LIVING HEART FOUNDATION IN 2001 TO PROMOTE CARDIOVASCULAR HEALTH AND WELLNESS AMONG ATHLETES AND UNDERSERVED POPULATIONS, YOUNG AND OLD. SINCE ITS FOUNDING, THE FOUNDATION HAS SHOWN SPECIAL INTEREST IN THE HEALTH OF PROFESSIONAL ATHLETES, PARTICULARLY NFL FOOTBALL PLAYERS.

BY ARCHIE ROBERTS, MD

Dr. Roberts was motivated to create the foundation because he’s passionate about health and wellness. At one point in his career, Dr. Roberts suffered a mini-stroke while delivering a lecture to a large group of doctors. He knew that others shared his experience with garbled speech, weakness in his arm, and the subsequent treatments and carotid artery surgery, and he wanted to help people avoid those experiences if he could.

Dr. Roberts was heavily involved in sports throughout his life, with his athletics culminating in a career as a NFL quarterback for the Cleveland Browns and the Miami Dolphins. It is believed that he is the only NFL player to play football and graduate from medical school in 4 consecutive years. However, even in his youth, he planned to become a physician. Later, he recognized that as a doctor he could promote lifestyle choices that would lead to increased health for athletes—and for the general population, since many of us struggle with the same the health challenges athletes face.

NFL athletes are often aficted with hypertension, sleep apnea, and metabolic syndrome. When they find solutions for these problems, they are happy to share them with other people who face the same symptoms. Choosing active and retired NFL players to serve as spokesmen has been especially helpful for the Living Heart Foundation. While many of us are afected by health challenges, lots of us “ check out” when our doctors explain treatment options and lifestyle choices that could help us. When NFL players team up with medical professionals to share health messages, they reach a broader, more engaged, audience.

The cardiovascular problems like hypertension, stroke, and heart attack that Dr. Roberts treated as a physician are often experienced in conjunction with sleep disorders, such as sleep apnea, often associated with obesity or large body size. Dr. Roberts and the Living Heart Foundation promote general wellness, which integrates healthy sleep with other beneficial lifestyle choices. The foundation benefits from the input of everyday people and a variety of experts that include doctors, dentists, health care professionals, and technicians—people who are interested in a good night’s sleep and are willing to approach treatment options across a range of disciplines. S&W