After heart attack and back surgery
Martin Kind: “Actually, I was already dead”
November 12, 2025 – 8:18 a.mReading time: 2 minutes
The 81-year-old had to undergo several operations on his back and heart. Now Martin Kind hopes to be fully resilient again soon.
The 81-year-old chairman of Hannover 96’s supervisory board, Martin Kind, has had difficult months. As he said on the sidelines of the home game against Darmstadt 98, he had to undergo several major operations.
“Actually, I was already dead,” Kind told the “Neue Presse”. Three complicated procedures on his back and a heart operation would have put a lot of strain on him. During the heart procedure, four bypasses were placed, Kind continued. He spent some time in the intensive care unit, “but I noticed almost nothing of it.”
In an interview with “Bild”, the entrepreneur explained: “If you had a heart attack like I did, then you are actually relatively close to death.” The diagnosis surprised him. “I was convinced that my heart was fine. But that was a mistake.” The four bypasses were, as he said, “an impressive number.”
Kind had already missed the first game of the season against Kaiserslautern in the summer. In the game against Hertha BSC in September, he left the stadium shortly after kick-off – heart surgery followed two days later.
Now Kind is in rehab and working on regaining his strength. “After five months with problems, of course, fitness and strength are lost, and there is also muscle loss,” he continued to “Bild”. Nevertheless, he is optimistic: “Everything has to be rebuilt. However, I have a lot of hope.”
At the same time, he emphasized that the interventions were successful. “The four operations were a challenge,” said Kind. “But the results of the operations are important because they were successful.” He had clear words of praise for the treating doctors: “What they have done and what is possible medically today is unbelievable, simply excellent.”