Former Seattle Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck is using Super Bowl week to push a message he admits he didn’t take seriously at first: get your cholesterol checked, because you can look “super healthy” and still be at risk.
Hasselbeck is teaming with the Family Heart Foundation to launch a national awareness campaign called “Tackle Cholesterol: Get into the LDL Safe Zone.” The campaign is supported by Amgen and is designed to encourage early screening for high LDL cholesterol and inherited risks that can contribute to early heart disease. He spoke with Heavy in an exclusive interview ranging from heart health to the nuances of Super Bowl week.
A shocking wake-up call after a heart attack in the family
In an interview tied to the campaign, Hasselbeck said his perspective changed after his father died from a heart attack.
He described the loss as especially jarring because his dad appeared to be in excellent shape. That’s what made the lesson stick: some of the biggest risk factors aren’t obvious until you run the numbers.
“My mom encouraged me and my two younger brothers, ‘Hey, you guys need to get screened,’” Hasselbeck said. Even then, he admitted he initially brushed it off, because in his mind, high cholesterol was something that happened to “people who are out of shape.”
That assumption didn’t hold up when he finally got tested.
Hasselbeck said he was surprised to learn his LDL cholesterol was too high, and that he wasn’t in what the campaign calls the “safe zone,” even though other results (including a heart calcium score) came back encouraging.
What the campaign is actually promoting
The headline point of the initiative is simple: screening. The foundation’s program, called Cholesterol Connect, offers a free, one-time, at-home screening that checks LDL cholesterol and lipoprotein(a), often written as Lp(a).
Hasselbeck said the barrier to entry is basically gone, because the test is easy and can be done from home.
“They send you a little thing. I pricked my finger… sent the thing off in the mail,” he said, emphasizing that he’s now pushing friends and family to stop delaying it.
The campaign’s language centers on lowering LDL cholesterol and keeping it low “in accordance with individual risk guidelines,” and it also aims to educate people on what their results mean, because getting a number back is only step one.
Why this message hits during Super Bowl week
The timing is intentional: the campaign is launching during Super Bowl week, when the NFL’s biggest stage creates a megaphone for health messaging, especially as American Heart Month begins.
Super Bowl LX is set for February 8 in Santa Clara, with the Seattle Seahawks facing the New England Patriots, putting a former Seahawks quarterback like Hasselbeck back into the center of the football conversation.
The takeaway Hasselbeck wants people to hear
If you’re in the “I’ll do it later” crowd, Hasselbeck’s pitch is blunt: don’t wait for symptoms, because high LDL cholesterol can be silent for years.
He said even if screening was difficult, it would still be worth it. But the point is, in this case, it’s not difficult, and he’s trying to use his platform to get people to act before a crisis forces the issue.
Info: The foundation directs people to FamilyHeart.org and Cholesterol Connect for details on the at-home screening and educational resources.
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