After my second heart attack in 2023, I was determined to figure out why this kept happening. I tried going vegetarian. Experimented with intermittent fasting. Kept running religiously. Lost weight. Worked with my trainer twice a week.

On paper, I was doing everything right. My weight was down from 230 to around 205. I was more active than ever. More careful about food than I'd ever been.

But there was one thing I didn't change. One piece of the puzzle I completely missed.

From 2023 through early 2025, my wife and I had a routine. A couple of vodka sodas most nights to decompress from stress. More on weekends. It was just our way of dealing with life.

I didn't connect it to my heart problems. I mean, I wasn't drinking that much. And everything else was under control... right?

Then in April 2025, I ended up in the ER with what I thought was heartburn. Turns out it was. But they ran a routine test that came back with unexpected results - and started me down the path to finally understanding what I'd been missing all along.

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Different pain. Different location. For four months, I convinced myself it wasn't my heart. Then my trainer saw something during a workout that made him stop me. Three days before my scheduled procedure, everything changed. When they opened me up, the doctor found something he wasn't equipped to handle. I had to be transferred to another hospital. Here's what doesn't make sense: they told me the one thing that saved my life was the same thing that was supposed to keep this from happening. So what was I missing?

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There's more to the story. Follow @readbeforeyoueat on Instagram. If this episode resonated with you, share it with someone who needs to hear it.

After my first stent, the pain was gone. I felt relieved. I thought the hard part was over. This episode is about what came next — the recovery, the job change that finally got me home, and my attempts to build a healthier life. I was running again. Training twice a week. Eating better. But here's what no one tells you: doing better isn't always the same as doing enough.

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I was 49, running 10Ks and doing Spartan races. No family history of heart disease. I thought I was healthy.

But I ignored the warning signs—chest pain during a run, discomfort while mowing the lawn. Then one night at 2am, the pain wouldn't go away. That ER visit revealed a 90% blockage. My first stent. My first heart attack.

If you've ever told yourself "it's probably nothing," this episode is for you.

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There's more to the story. Follow @readbeforeyoueat on Instagram. If this episode resonated with you, share it with someone who needs to hear it.