When the heart fails: 3 stories of survival and how to make sure it doesn't happen to you

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THE NUMBERS DON'T LIE. But many of us are still in denial.

Yes, we know that heart disease is the leading cause of death among African-Americans, with 30 percent more Blacks dying of heart disease than Whites in America. We know the issues--obesity, stress, diet, lifestyle, heredity and access to health care--that factor into African-Americans being of much higher risk of premature death than the rest of the population. And we likely all have a friend or family member who is dealing with--or has died from--major ailments related to heart disease, such as heart attacks, strokes, blood clots or aneurysms.

Most doctors, however, know better. Dr. Neal Scott, a board-certified cardiologist in Mountain View, Calif., says that new studies reinforce how much easier it is to prevent a major cardiac event--especially through diet and exercise--than it is to deal with the aftermath.

"Changing your life before things happen is much better than changing your life after having a heart attack," says the Harvard-trained specialist. He suggests one heart-healthy eating plan called the Mediterranean Diet, rich in fruits and vegetables, fatty fish such as tuna or salmon, and moderate use of olive oil, instead of a more traditional menu of red meat, potatoes and flied food.

But despite the overwhelming medical evidence, still, somehow, too many African-Americans seem to think that it can't happen to them. We think we're not going to, one day, feel that tightness in the chest or that resonating pain through the jaw and left arm. We won't be the one to have a heart attack or need a coronary bypass or suffer a stroke. No, not us.

Well, three people--a Coast Guard senior chief in Virginia, a preacher's wife near Atlanta and a 30-year-old shipping coordinator in California's Silicon Valley--they found out it could happen to them. And it did.

Here are their stories of pain and survival, and how they have learned to endure and thrive after nearly losing their lives.

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DANTE WATTS

Home: Mountain View, Calif.

Age: 30

Occupation: International shipping coordinator

Issue: Heart attack

Treatment: Stent placement

Dante Watts, a 6-foot-l-inch, 250-pound former firefighter was always the one you'd call when you needed to move furniture or play football. He had put on a few extra pounds in his 20s, hit the drive-through restaurants a bit too often and led a more sedentary lifestyle in his new desk job shipping cargo overseas.

And he smoked. A lot. At least two packs a day.

But on June 22, 2007, two days after getting married and returning from his honeymoon cruise to the Bahamas, Watts was helping his stepfather resurface a driveway when he noticed he was unusually tired and winded. The former emergency medical technician knew about the classic warning signs--sharp chest pains, numbness on the left side--but, as he gasped for air, he didn't think he was having a heart attack.

He was.

He was rushed to the emergency room and had surgery to place a stent, a small, wire mesh-like tube about the diameter of a drinking straw, into a small artery at the back of his heart. Then, he had to take stock of his life.

"In a sense, I am glad everything happened the way it did," Watts says. "I'm wiser and now I have a chance to change the outcome of how I might die. It's still up to God, but at least now I have a chance to change it."

Today, Watts has made a complete lifestyle reversal. He swore off fried chicken and replaced it with grilled fish. He no longer smokes, substituting his two packs of Newports with daily exercise.

"I don't feel as tired; I've lost some weight; I exercise for two hours a day every day of the week," says Watts, "and I haven't eaten McDonald's since."

Watts, who also has a twin brother, has become a bit of a health evangelist in his family. He packs healthy lunches for everyone and is joined at the gym by at least six family members during the week.

"They've seen if it could happen to me, it could happen to them."

DANTE'S SURVIVAL TIPS

Quit smoking. Now. Watts says that while in the hospital, he would see young kids battling cancer and he felt awfully selfish being a smoker. He hasn't touched a cigarette since.

Don't keep eating until fullness. Push away from the table. Stop stuffing yourself on double cheeseburgers and other fast foods. Know when to stop eating.

Get out, get active. If you work at a desk or in front of a computer all day, take the stairs or go for a walk during lunch. At the very least, get some form of physical activity each day, even if it means walking down the hall to talk to someone instead of sending an e-mail.

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GWENDOLYN TURNER

Home: Riverdale, Ga.

Age: 62

Occupation: Accounting supervisor

Issue: Heart attack

Treatment: Balloon angioplasty and stent placement

One Friday evening in July of 2005, Gwendolyn Turner, an otherwise healthy 60-year-old mother and grandmother living outside Atlanta, woke up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat. Her shoulder hurt, she had intense pain in her lower back and she was perspiring profusely.