'I was invincible. I had no idea': Ex-Colts player has heart failure at 48 years old

INDIANAPOLIS -- Chukie Nwokorie's chest is still sore and, to be honest, he is still in a bit of shock. It's been one week since he was wheeled away to an operating room to have a dual chamber cardioverter defibrillator implanted inside of him.

It hasn't been much longer since the doctor looked at Nwokorie and told him he was in heart failure, just 25% of his heart pumping blood like it should. That's when the shock first set in for the 48-year-old former Indianapolis Colts defensive end.

Then his electrophysiologist, the doctor who specializes in the heart's electrical system, told Nwokorie something even more unsettling.

"He said the fear is, should I suffer a heart attack, because my heart is on the decline, and I was not close to a hospital or a defibrillator, I risk the chance of being gone," Nwokorie told IndyStar Monday. "There's a lot of things that went through my mind. I just couldn't grasp all that information."

All he knew was that this was a matter of life and death. And that he didn't want to leave his two children, 18 and 15, without a father.

"When the doctor called me and said, 'Hey we have a couple dates. You got to pick one,' I did the first one they had," he said. That was last Monday.

And now as Nwokorie recovers from his surgery, he has time to ponder life, his health, and how lucky he is. After all, it was only because he is a former pro player that he even found out he had a heart problem to begin with.

He has the NFL to thank for that.

'All of a sudden, I have heart failure.'

After being adopted as a teenager, Nwokorie went to Lafayette Jeff High School, where he starred in football then headed to Purdue where Nwokorie was a 4-year letterwinner.

During his four seasons with the Colts, 1999-2002, Nwokorie appeared in 22 games and recorded the longest fumble return in Indianapolis history, 95 yards, against the Jets on Sept. 9, 2001. After leaving football behind in 2007, Nwokorie has spent his career in business development. He volunteers with Special Olympics and is the vice president of the NFL Alumni chapter in Indianapolis.

As Nwokorie lived his life, a very busy life, he had no idea anything was wrong with his heart. He had no symptoms and was living life on his own terms. He liked to have a drink now and then. He liked to smoke a cigar with his buddies.

But as a vested player with the NFL, Nwokorie received certain benefits, including a full health evaluation every five years as part of the NFLPA's The Trust: Brain and Body. It is a two-day, fully body, head-to-toe assessment of former NFL players' health. Nwokorie had his first one seven years ago.

"Nothing. They found nothing. It was a clean bill of health," said Nwokorie. "Including my heart. They found nothing."

Five years later, when Nwokorie was set to go through the evaluation again, the program was put on pause due to COVID. Nwokorie said he got COVID and was down for a week and a half.

When the program started back up, Nwokorie went to the Cleveland Clinic for his testing. And that is when his life changed forever. As the cardiologist looked at the scans, she was not happy with what she saw. She brought Nwokorie to her office to show him how his heart wasn't pumping blood to the rest of his body like it should.

She put him on medicine and told him to follow up with a cardiologist in Indy.

"Typically, when you hear about people with heart problems, there is some blockage. There were no blockages at all," he said. Doctors looked into his genealogy. EKGs were done. "They couldn't find anything. And even after being told no more drinking, no cigars, doing all the medicine, there was no improvement."

That's when Nwokorie was told he needed to have surgery and have a dual chamber defibrillator implanted.

"I haven't had any issues through my playing high school, college, in the pros, I haven't had any issues with my heart. I couldn't understand why I needed a defibrillator," he said. "All of a sudden, I have heart failure. All of a sudden, my heart is in severe decline."

And now Nwokorie wants to spread a message.

"I feel that everybody should get their heart checked," he said. "Had it not been for the test that the NFL offered, I would have never known I had an issue. I was invincible. I had no idea."

'Helping a brother in need'

The procedure Nwokorie had was a costly one. When his friend and fellow Colts teammate Rick DeMulling found out, he asked Nwokorie if he could start a GoFundMe page to help him.

At first, Nwokorie was hesitant.

"Here's my thing. I don't know if you want to call it pride, but I've heard so many stories about people that either lie or take advantage of people, and I didn't want to be thought of as one of those people," he said. "Maybe I was overthinking things."

DeMulling, who calls Nwokorie "everybody's best friend" told him he most definitely was overthinking this. The medical bills Nwokorie was facing had reached more than $95,000.

"He was reluctant," said DeMulling, "but when you're put in a position, that big of an out-of-pocket expense ..." Eventually, Nwokorie said yes.

"I told Rick, 'Listen. If you want to do this for me, I'm not going to say no,'" Nwokorie said.

The campaign named "Helping a Brother in Need" launched March 13, five days before Nwokorie's surgery, with a goal of raising $95,000.

"Your donation will directly support Chukie's medical expenses, ensuring he receives the care he needs. Every contribution, big or small, makes a meaningful impact on his health and well-being," the page reads. "Let's come together as a community to support Chukie during this difficult time. Thank you for your generosity and for standing by our NFL family."

As of Tuesday night, $19,900 had been donated, including $13,200 from NFL Alumni chapters.

"The amount of love I got was overwhelming. I can't thank the people enough that were donating," said Nwokorie. "It's amazing. It's amazing the people that have come to my rescue."

Donate to Nwokorie's medical bills via GoFundMe.

Follow IndyStar sports reporter Dana Benbow on X: @DanaBenbow. Reach her via email: dbenbow@indystar.com.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Ex-Colts player Chukie Nwokorie, 48, has heart failure