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Joe Montana
Focusing on Family and
High Blood Pressure Awareness
High Blood Pressure Awareness
By Donna Smith
Joe Montana knows pressure. As quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, he led the team to four Super Bowl wins and earned three Super Bowl MVP awards. He knows the pressure of avoiding a sack, completing a pass and rallying downfield with less than two minutes to go. But one pressure snuck up on him without warning: high blood pressure.
Montana learned he had high blood pressure after a checkup in 2002. He did not have any symptoms of the condition. "The only reason I went to the doctor was because my wife, Jennifer, was pushing me to get an annual checkup since I turned 40," he says. "When the doctor told me that my blood pressure was extremely high and sent me to a cardiologist that very day, I was shocked. If I had never gone in for that checkup, who knows what would have happened to me. That's why it's so important to see your doctor and get your blood pressure checked on a regular basis. They call this disease the 'silent killer' because in most cases there are no symptoms."
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After his diagnosis, there were many changes in the Montana house, including eating healthier and exercising 
more. Montana also felt strongly about helping others recognize and get treatment for this condition that affects more than 65 million Americans. The result was the book Joe Montana's Family Playbook for Managing High Blood Pressure.
