Matt Millen battles rare disease, may need heart transplant

Former Lions CEO Matt Millen battling life-threatening heart disease Friday afternoon brought some shocking Lions news: Former CEO Matt Millen has been diagnosed with amyloidosis, a rare and life-threatening heart disorder. In an interview with Mark Roegenrich of The Morning Call, Millen’s wife Pat explained his activity’s been curtailed, and he will likely need a heart transplant. Millen, of course, isn’t often thought of fondly by Detroit fans. But for all the losing that happened under his watch, he never shirked responsibility and he never stopped working for the team. Speaking of which, Millen says that with rest and treatment, he’ll still be able to broadcast college football games in the fall. Everyone at Lions Wire wishes Millen and his family good health and good luck as his treatment continues.

Matt Millen battles rare disease, may need heart transplant Matt Millen mowed his lawn on Monday, and then he went to chemotherapy. Millen loves to cut the grass of his five-acre Bucks County home, where he has a woodshop, a barn and a kiln. He puts on a pair of spikes and walks behind his big industrial mower. Once a fearsome NFL linebacker who won four Super Bowl rings, Millen refuses to ride. These days, however, it takes Millen more time to mow, as he continues treatment for a rare disease called amyloidosis that has robbed his heart of most of its normal function. Because it often goes undiagnosed, amyloidosis carries life-threatening effects. “You continue to do the things you love to do, maybe not at 100 percent, but you do them,” said Pat Millen, Matt’s wife of more than 35 years. “You don’t stop or turn into this ‘woe is me’ type of person. That’s not him.” All things considered, Millen has done well for himself. At 60, he has a “phenomenal” wife, ...