“Thought I Would Faint.. Rushed Me to the Hospital”: 75-Year-Old Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Opens Up About His Frightening Condition

Los Angeles Lakers legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s fitness allowed him to have a dominating NBA career that spanned two decades. Interestingly, the six-time NBA champ is also second on the list of most NBA games played after Robert Parish (1611) with 1560 appearances under his belt. However, the longevity and the desire to play through the pain did come with heavy reliance on mental fortitude and stoicism. Moreover, athletes always try to give their best on the court while ignoring the consequences, which often hurt them in the long run in the concluding years of their lives. Recently, 75-year-old Kareem Abdul-Jabbar provided an insight into his frightening health condition, which causes thousands of deaths in America each year.

The 19-time All-Star recently admitted to having a serious health condition that landed him in the hospital a while ago. Since his faceoff with the terrifying reality, Kareem has vowed to stay healthy and make people aware of the condition suffered by nearly 9.5 million people in the US.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar talks about his health crisis

In his recent update on Kareem Substack, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar confessed to suffering from a critical heart condition called atrial fibrillation or AFib. The Lakers legend shared that he had been suffering from symptoms like shortness of breath and light-headedness for a while. However, Kareem shrugged off the symptoms deeming them a consequence of aging.

Moreover, the NBA Hall of Famer avoided visiting the doctor as he did not want to be perceived as an ‘alarmist and attention seeker’. Another reason why Kareem did not consult a doctor was his fear of receiving bad news about his health. Further, Kareem disclosed that he tried to hide the symptoms from his surgeon son, Amir when he was visiting his family, as the Lakers legend did not want to lose his precious time with his grandchildren

However, Kareem finally got a reality check when he almost fainted while attending a baseball game with his friends. Despite feeling light-headed after being exposed to the sun for 20 minutes, the six-time MVP pushed himself through because he had promised his friend about getting some of the players’ autographs. Meanwhile, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar added, “That’s when I started experiencing shortness of breath and felt so light-headed, I thought I would faint. My friend and manager, Deborah, rushed me to the hospital.”

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The 1970 Rookie of the Year laid out that he almost lost consciousness and was immediately rushed to the hospital by his manager, where he was diagnosed with AFib by the doctors. After realizing he had AFib, Kareem also joined an awareness campaign to spread knowledge about the life-threatening condition.

Kareem joins an AFib awareness campaign

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar shared that he teamed up with Bristol Myers Squibb and Pfizer for the ‘No Time to Wait‘ campaign, in order to raise awareness about AFib and its symptoms. The Lakers legend pointed out that the symptoms of the condition could be ignored easily, but the complications like AFib-related stroke could pose serious repercussions if not dealt with on time.

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Further, Kareem also cited the projections that claimed that about 12.1 million people are likely to have AFib by 2030, in comparison to 9.5 million in 2023. In addition, the NBA legend also detailed some of the symptoms of AFib, including ‘irregular heartbeat, racing heart, chest pain, shortness of breath, fatigue, or light-headedness.’