Michael Lewis bears no grudge against former team

SAN FRANCISCO — A professional football career was the last thing on Michael Lewis’ mind when he received the life-altering news during his freshman year at the University of Colorado.

A routine physical revealed Lewis was living with a heart defect that affects about 2.2 million Americans. He was diagnosed with atrial fibrillation, a disorder in which the heart’s two small upper chambers, the atria, quiver instead of beat effectively.

“At first, not knowing about the situation, it kind of scared me,” Lewis said. “Then, I figured out what it was and how I could manage it.”

Four years later, Lewis figured there was a chance he would not get drafted — despite having the resume of a first-round pick.

“It crossed my mind,” Lewis said. “At that time with heart conditions, teams were backing off guys.”

That’s why Lewis is grateful to the Philadelphia Eagles. His five-year stay with the Eagles ended awkwardly. But as the strong safety gets set to face his former team today at Candlestick Park, Lewis said his sole focus is on winning a football game.

“They did their research and thought I was fit enough to play for them,” Lewis said. “I don’t hold any vendettas or personal beefs with Philadelphia. We need to win.”

The 49ers and Eagles are desperate for victories. Both teams enter today’s game with 2-3 records and on two-game losing streaks.

Lewis went to a Super Bowl and experienced two NFC Championship game losses during his time with the Eagles. He said he sees some of the same encouraging signs from his current team.

“All the pieces are in place here,” Lewis said. “We just have to continue to come together as one. We’re not playing together. We have the team in place and every week we’re working toward that goal. We have to pull together and everybody has to be conscious of taking care of their business.”

Lewis took care of business during his time with the Eagles.

In 2004, he was named an NFC Pro Bowl starter while leading Philadelphia in tackles. But two seasons later, he lost his starting job to Sean Considine. Lewis felt the Eagles wanted to start moving toward the future when they realized he was unlikely to re-sign as a free agent.

The 49ers signed Lewis to a six-year, $30 million contract with $9.8 million in guaranteed money on the first day of free agency in 2007. In his first season with the club, he started all 16 games and made 139 tackles, second on the team behind Patrick Willis.

“He does a lot of different things for us,” 49ers coach Mike Nolan said. “I’ve been very pleased with Michael’s contribution on our football team as well as the community, for that matter.”

In April, Lewis led a group of American Heart Association volunteers, city employees and health enthusiasts on a walk through San Jose for the annual Start! Walking Day. The event is a national call-to-action for Americans to adopt healthier lifestyles.

Lewis encourages young athletes to get thorough physical examinations. After all, if he had not undergone a physical, he might not have known anything was wrong with him until it was too late.

“I had no family history or anything,” Lewis said. “I didn’t know anything was wrong. I was not fatigued. I was able to do everything that a normal person can do.”

Lewis emphasized the importance of getting periodic checkups, along with regular exercise and adopting a healthy diet. Several young athletes have died in recent years because of heart conditions they never knew existed, he said.

Although Lewis took immediate steps to deal with his condition, he knows there were plenty of questions about it when he became eligible for the NFL draft in 2002.

“I even heard that some teams took me off their draft board,” Lewis said. “There were a lot of teams that were nervous about taking a guy with a heart situation.”

The Eagles selected Lewis in the second round.

“We did a lot of homework on Michael,” Eagles coach Andy Reid said. “We felt that there wasn’t really a major risk there at all. We had a lot of conference calls with doctors.”

For more on the 49ers, go to Instant 49ers at 49ers.pressdemocrat.com. You can reach Staff Writer Matt Maiocco at 521-5492 or matt.maiocco@press

democrat.com.