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Former 49'er and heart transplant patient Dean Moore to walk

Silicon Valley American Heart Walk

   SAN JOSE, CA, - Just two months after undergoing successful heart transplant surgery, former San Francisco 49ers linebacker (1978-80), Dean Moore is    walking as a team captain in the American Heart Association's Silicon Valley American Heart Walk.

   Moore was diagnosed with congestive heart failure in 1998. Four years later he was on a transplant waiting list. As a professional football player,  Moore played for the 49'ers, Minnesota Vikings and the Oakland Invaders of the now defunct United States Football League. Moore had no history of heart disease, and was stunned by the reality of heart failure.

   "I just couldn't believe I went from being a healthy athlete to a person that couldn't walk my kids to half black to school. I couldn't bend over to tie my own shoes." Moore said.

   In April of this year, Moore was implanted with an artificial heart device called an LVAS or left ventricular assist device. The LVAS kept him alive until a donor heart was found on July 19th. Ten days later Moore was released from Stanford Hospital and his recovery is going well. "I've been playing the saxophone,  walking, working out with my daughters on the treadmill and lifting light weights," Moore said. "It's been wonderful, it's been a great blessing."

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