Barry Sanders Reveals He Suffered Heart Attack Last Year

Hall of Famer Barry Sanders is opening up on the health scare he experienced last year ... revealing he suffered a heart attack while on a recruiting visit with his son.

The 56-year-old Detroit Lions legend detailed the incident in an interview with CBS Sports ... saying he initially thought he was just dealing with some heartburn during the June 2024 trip -- but the feeling continued.

Sanders explained he left his son's visit and went to the emergency room ... and after undergoing tests and a heart catheter procedure, it was determined he did, in fact, suffer a heart attack.

The former running back said he used the experience as a lesson on improving his health ... and he has done just that through his daily routine -- like meds, eating better and walking.

"It's definitely made me healthier and happier," Sanders told the outlet. "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," he added.

Sanders is now calling on folks to pay attention to their hearts ... as everyone's situation is different.