The Pulse of Progress: How Damar Hamlin Turned a Near-Fatal Cardiac Arrest Into a Global Heart Health Movement

In the NFL, we usually only see the main character moments like the dripped-out pre-game fits, the diamond-encrusted rings, and the highlight reels filled with touchdowns. We watch these guys deliver brutal hits that would probably fold the average person like a lawn chair, but we rarely talk about the receipt the body keeps or the toll that is actually being paid.

Sure, you might see a 30-second Instagram clip of an ice bath or a pilates class, but you do not see the grit of the 2,200-plus concussions logged since 2015. And you certainly did not expect to see what happened to Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin in 2023. During a game against the Bengals, a routine hit led to a cardiac arrest that left him clinically dead on the field.

He was in the hospital for a week and a half, yet in what most people call a flat-out miracle, he was cleared by three different specialists to return to football just three and a half months later. But while his body was ready, Hamlin is the first to admit "the mental part was the majority of the fight."

Now, he is turning that trauma into a playbook for the rest of us. He says, "The lessons that I've learned through that process, I'll be able to provide knowledge and information to the world for the rest of my life."

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Since that night, he's been putting in work on and off the field. He recently re-signed with the Bills on a one-year deal, but he is also teaming up with brands like Qunol for their Champions at Heart campaign to keep heart health in the spotlight. He even attempted a Guinness World Record at the NFL Draft by partnering with the American Heart Association and his own Chasing Ms Foundation to train as many people as possible in hands-only CPR.

On the turf, Hamlin’s return wasn't a cinematic transformation but a slow and steady grind. “There is no difference from before or after, and that’s probably what allows me to feel as normal as possible,” he says. Even with that early medical green light, he did not just jump back into the fire. He worked through a gradual progression of workouts and individual drills before returning to full contact and game action later that year.

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Hamlin has moved away from chasing rigid performance numbers and now relies on a more instinctive way of handling his training. “My day-to-day approach of recovery and taking care of my body is honestly just listening to my body—letting it tell me how it’s feeling and what it needs,” he says.

That philosophy shows up in a recovery routine that emphasizes daily maintenance. “I always make sure to stretch when I get up in the morning, get in the sauna, and I always get in the cold tub,” he says. “I always make sure I do rehab on anything specific that is bothering me—whether it’s shoulder, ankle, hamstring—anything that is bothering me.”

For Hamlin, the focus is staying ahead of potential issues to ensure he stays on the field for the long haul.