Living
Heart Foundation’s Shape-a-Life CV Program
Designed
for Professional Football players
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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, as well as the American Association for Respiratory Care (AARC) 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.
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Obstructive Sleep Apnea: LHF’s Total Solution
Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is a sleep disorder long associated with snoring, nighttime arousals, daytime sleepiness and slow activation responses.
Recently, studies have shown that cardiovascular disease (CVD), namely stroke, high blood pressure, arrhythmia, heart attack and sudden death may also be associated with
OSA. The prevalence of OSA is between 5-10 % in the general population, while active and retired NFL players have a 15-35% rate of occurrence. The large body size of football players is likely to be a factor responsible for the observed differences. The LHF has also recently learned that the “Metabolic Syndrome”, a cluster of CVD risk factors, is also increasingly associated with OSA in NFL retired players.
These related findings have stimulated the LHF Faculty to develop a strategy that considers body size and metabolism to be important parts in considering solutions for OSA and improving CV outcomes related to this disorder.
Next Health Screenings
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The available slots for the late Spring events in Atlanta, Georgia are filling up quickly. NFL players will be accepted on a first come, first serve basis. In the setting of the NFL retired players annual convention, health education and important screening tests are planned. Our regional hospital partner is Emory Crawford Long hospital. Also supporting our former players will be the Mayo Clinic and the University of Michigan. Recent past NFL retired players CV health screenings
Future 2008 NFL retired player CV health screenings
Sign up now! Cost for CV risk detection is currently funded by the NFL alliance, educational grants and sponsors. Players may begin registration by clicking on registration button or calling (732) 842-5584 or (508) 254-1108.
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NFL Alliance |
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The NFLPA does not have any equitable or legal interest in LHF and does not in any way warrant, validate or guarantee the services provided by LHF. The NFLPA is not responsible for any screening, health diagnosis or treatment program which may relate to or arise from your participation in any LHF program. |
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Huddle for Health: LHF Nutrition And Exercise Program
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Join the team:
Nutrition
Exercise
Communication-link
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LHF, the Boomer Coalition, and CVD
| The Living Heart Foundation has joined with the American Heart Association, the American College of Cardiology, and Pfizer to create the Boomer Coalition. The mission of this grass roots movement is to raise the consciousness of the public about the devastating effect of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and to inspire people to action against this silent killer. The main message is that CVD is preventable; the obstacle facing individuals is indifference and inaction! | |
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Click on either button to learn about the Boomer Coalition and CVD |
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YOUTH ATHLETE PROGRAM
COLLEGE ATHLETE PROGRAM
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Pilot
Program Turns Attention A pilot program tested in New England has raised awareness of the state of health among youth sports participants by offering heart, lung, and nutritional screenings to high school athletes and by working to disseminate automatic external defibrillators in the schools. The program was a venture of The Chad Foundation for Athletes and Artists and the Living Heart Foundation, lead by a mother who lost her son to sudden cardiac death and a retired heart surgeon, respectively. Protocols and standards for the screening are overseen by the Living Heart Foundation's Medical Advisory Board. This physician group studies the data collected by the screenings. |
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Preliminary Summary of Division One College Football Team Screening Program A cardiovascular screening designed by the Living Heart Foundation (LHF) was performed on a college football team in New York City. All 110 members of the varsity team participated in this one-day screening event. |
