After a major heart attack, he could barely walk. Two years later, he ran a half-marathon: How cardiac rehab made a patient fitter

At age 50, this medical college professor was active enough, given his family history of heart attacks. However, he was unaware of another risk factor that amplified his risk — diabetes. He had a severe heart attack, the kind when a major artery supplying the heart is completely blocked, causing a significant portion of the heart muscle to die from lack of oxygen. It was months after angioplasty, where a stent is put to open up an artery, before he felt strong and confident enough to start cardiac rehab. He could barely walk on a treadmill for a few minutes. Two years later, he ran the half marathon, 21 km, something he had never done in his life. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW VIDEO

Often patients ask me how most heart attack patients become fitter after a procedure. Or choose to run marathons