After a lifetime of physical fitness, and what I thought was a reasonably healthy diet, I was shocked one morning to come to the realization I might be having a heart attack.

In 15 days, I was turning 67. I was hopeful that I had my mom's longevity genes since she was still alive at 92. My dad had a heart attack when he was 50 and my brother who is six years older than me, had multiple heart attacks by the time he was 60. Nevertheless, being 30 pounds overweight and less prudent than I should have been on my diet, it all suddenly caught up to me too.

I got up around 5:00 AM restless. My self-esteem was suffering because I had been eating and drinking way too much. I decided this was the day things were going to change for the better, so I jumped on my exercise bike intending to go for 30 minutes. At 15 minutes, I needed to stop because of a weird sensation in my throat and neck area.

Unsure of what I was experiencing, I decided to ignore the sensation. I went to the kitchen and poured myself a bowl of cereal. The unusual sensation started to spread to my shoulders and became quite uncomfortable. I stood up to see if it would feel any better. No go, so I called Kaiser for advice. They suggested I go to the emergency room.

The pain started to move up into my jaw, down my shoulders and into my arms. I walked to the bedroom and asked my wife, Nancy, to take me to the hospital, interrupting her morning ritualistic reading time. She looked up rapidly with a frown and barked out "Why?" I simply responded, as calmly as possible, "I'm having a heart attack." She didn't hesitate after that and immediately suggested we call an ambulance. I insisted she drive me to save time.

Obviously, this was getting serious. Nancy brought me some aspirin to chew, and we were on our way. Much to my consternation, she decided to take the scenic route to the hospital. Then we got behind another slow car and she wouldn't pass it. I struggled to stay calm as the pain was intensifying, taking my breath away making it difficult for me to talk.

She had a plan, deciding to take me to the fire station instead. The medics praised Nancy for that decision. If things went wonky on the way to the hospital, she would have been helpless, and I would have been a goner. In their eyes, she was a hero. I sat in the car until they could transfer me to their medical transport unit.

The EKG showed no evidence of a heart attack, but when they gave me nitroglycerin, the pain faded rapidly, convincing them and the hospital staff I was having a heart attack. Blood tests confirmed it and the angioplasty showed one main artery was 85% blocked. A few hours later a stent was placed in the artery making me good as new.

Nearly a year later and I'm feeling perfect and fully recovered. As heart attacks go, it was a mild one. There was no heart damage. I'd hate to feel the pain of a more substantial one. It must be awful. 

To date I've lost 25 pounds using a modified plant based whole foods diet and have resumed normal activities. Thanks to a lifestyle change and a fist full of pills every morning, I'm looking forward to seeing my future grandkids

I have since learned that 40 percent of heart attack victims pass away. I was lucky, indeed, and often raise my glass of sparkling water to toast to second chances.

~ Andrew Laufer