TAMPA, Fla. — The night before the Bucs beat the Falcons in early October, former head coach Bruce Arians was entertaining family and friends at his home in Tampa when he started to experience chest pains.
He thought it was indigestion, but eventually his wife called 911 and Arians was taken by ambulance to Tampa General Hospital.
Fearing he might have suffered a mild heart attack, doctors ran tests on the 70-year-old Arians, who currently serves as senior advisor to general manager Jason Licht.
“Actually, it ended up as pericarditis,” Arians said Wednesday.
Pericarditis is swelling and irritation of the thin, saclike tissue surrounding the heart known as the pericardium. It causes sharp chest pain that can mimic a heart attack. It typically goes away without treatment.
Arians said he was put through a battery of tests that showed no blockage or damage to the heart and treated with anti-inflammatories.
Since the scare, he has not traveled with the team but continues to attend practices and home games.
Arians has had his share of health scares. He has battled prostate, skin and kidney cancer, and those issues are what prompted him to retire as head coach of the Arizona Cardinals following the 2017 season.
Arians will be inducted into the Bucs’ Ring of Honor on New Year’s Day at halftime of their game against the Carolina Panthers.
How does he feel now? “I’m great,” he said.
