Welcome to Living Healthy Chicago, I'm Jane Manzures.
You know, we talk a lot about the benefits
of staying on the move and sometimes do that,
you have to overcome some big health hurdles.
But don't let those hurdles stop you.
That's the motto of this marathoner
who says determination helped him get moving again
after suffering a heart attack.
(lyrical piano music)
- [Jane] Jose Nebrida has an addiction.
- It gives you a, you know, what they call a high
and then at the same time it makes you feel good.
- [Jane] But it's not drugs or alcohol.
His high comes from exercise.
- [Jose] The biggest medal I got.
I love running.
I really do, I love running.
It's just wonderful to finish it.
It's a feeling of accomplishment.
Became a positive addiction so you felt that,
hey if I can run one I can run another one.
It was a craving.
- [Jane] Jose would go on to run 177 marathons.
But he hit a speed bump along the way.
Just after a marathon in Oklahoma City,
Jose began to feel unwell.
- I was getting nauseous and having some blackouts.
I felt so, kind of, really weak
and I thought it was just the marathon thing
but they called the ambulance for me
and they took me to the small, community hospital.
I asked the doctor, I said, "What's wrong with me?"
And he said, "You had a heart attack."
(knocking)
- Hello, how are you doin'?
- [Jose] Fine, thank you very much.
- A heart attack occurs when there's
a pre-existing degree of blockage within an artery.
It can lead to obstruction of blood flow
and if the blood flow trying to go through the pipe
or through the artery is not able
to get to its end destination
which is the muscle, the muscle will suffer lack of oxygen.
And as that process carries on every minute counts.
The muscle can start to suffer severe damage
and if it goes on for too long
it can be irreversible damage.
- [Jane] Jose was taken in for surgery.
- They perform a triple bypass
because 95% of my left artery was blocked
and then 85% of my right arteries were blocked.
Two of them.
It was scary.
It was real scary.
- [Jane] To help Jose recover
doctors had him complete cardiac rehab.
- Cardiac rehab is a very important part
of the healing process.
- It's a huge lifestyle change
that you learn while you're here.
Really the biggest thing is to have them back
to the activities they were doing before
by strengthening not only their heart
but strengthening their bones, their muscles.
- Once you complete the cardiac rehab program,
there's options to continue medical fitness.
It's very important to reduce the chance
of having another cardiac event such as a heart attack.
- [Jane] And that's just what Jose did.
Committing to regular exercise.
- Now I do a lot of walking.
I'm doing now half a mile.
My aim at the moment is to do a mile on the track.
And then I do a bit of dumbbells, you know,
for muscle toning.
- He's doing great, he works hard every day that he comes.
He's always the most positive person.
- [Steve] Once you have heart disease
or had a heart attack there is lots of hope out there.
If we can really focus on disease prevention
and making sure exercising regularly
you can have a normal, healthy life
if you stick to the things
that are gonna reduce your risk.
- [Jane] Jose now hopes to be an inspiration to others
to get active and start moving
whether they've struggled with heart health or not.
- It makes you feel alive.
It makes you feel good about yourself.
Keep on moving as they say.
- Oh, it's great to see Jose living a healthy life.