As “Joe Cool,” NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana knew how to stay calm under pressure, all the way to four Super Bowl championships.
But it took a little more persuasion, medical assistance and medication to get his blood pressure back under control.
“I was diagnosed in 2002 with high blood pressure,” Montana said. “It was the last thing I ever expected to happen to me. I thought I was taking care of myself pretty well.”
The football legend, who still cuts a trim figure, admitted to liking his hamburgers large and juicy and being able to down a full-size bag of chips in one sitting, but he ignored one of the main warning signs.
Not symptoms ? high blood pressure has none ? but a family history of high blood pressure. His mother and two uncles had high blood pressure, and his grandfather died of heart disease at 54.
Montana came to Baltimore on Thursday to raise awareness of high blood pressure with the BP Success Zone campaign.
Education is critical, said Dr. James Rippe, of the Rippe Lifestyle Institute in Shrewsbury, Mass., who is touring with Montana.
“One of the reasons we call high blood pressure the silent killer is that typically there are no symptoms,” Rippe said. “It?s impossible to treat if you don?t know you have it.”
An estimated one in three American adults has high blood pressure or hypertension, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. High blood pressure increases chances for developing heart disease, stroke and other serious conditions.
On his second visit to Charm City during the five years of this campaign, Montana also addressed the three keys to fighting this silent
killer: a healthy diet, regular
exercise and, when necessary, medication.
“Being of Italian descent, food is good, but more is better,” Montana said. “I began cutting back on portion size and getting 30 to 45 minutes of cardio consistently each day.”
But the medication was a little trickier to nail down. The first medication was not giving adequate results and caused his hands and feet to swell up, Montana said.
His cardiologist then put him on a combination of two medications ? a calcium channel blocker and an ACE inhibitor. Since then, with the diet and exercise, Montana keeps his blood pressure below the recommended 120 over 80 level, despite flying around the country to spread the word about high blood pressure.
