Former Running Back LenDale White Suffered 'Widow-Maker' Heart Attack, Had Suicidal Thoughts After Playing Career

Former USC and Tennessee Titans running back LenDale White nearly died four years ago, he revealed this week.

Speaking on the 'I Am Athlete' podcast, White said he suffered a major heart attack known as 'the widow-maker' four years ago that should have killed him.

"My (left anterior descending artery) was clogged, and I had to have two stints shot into my heart so my blood can flow again," White told Brandon Marshall, Marshawn Lynch and Pacman Jones.

"It's called a widow-maker because you're really not supposed to make it back from that."

LenDale White scored 24 touchdowns in his NFL career. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

LenDale White says Chris Johnson saved his life

Upon further review (WebMD), the 'widow-maker' is, in fact, one of the deadliest heart attacks in the world. Like any heart attack, it's caused partly because of an unhealthy lifestyle, which White went on to say he quickly corrected.

Per The Tennessean, White said he's now working out more today than he did during his playing days, and even credits former Titans teammate Chris Johnson for "saving his life."

Earlier this month, the now 38-year-old told Jim Wyatt of Titans Online that he used to have "suicidal thoughts" and dealt with substance abuse after getting traded back in 2009.

During that time in which White said he was in a "black hole," Johnson contacted him out of the blue and ultimately pulled him out of his funk.

Lendale White.

"He saved my life,” White said. “Hell yeah, he saved my life. I can honestly say that, because I was messed up. I was in my mom’s basement, and I didn’t come out for damn near nothing. I didn’t care about anything.

"There were thoughts of taking sleeping pills, and never waking up. I was very low," he said. "The depression, the stress, all of that had kicked in. The finances got low. When you think you’re never going to get your head above water again, there’s all kinds of things that run through your mind."

White ran for 24 touchdowns in four seasons with the Titans before getting traded to Seattle in 2010. The former USC Trojan was cut shortly after, bounced around the NFL for a while after but never played again.