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Life after a cardiac event | Greensboro man shares how he overcame nearly having a heart attack

72-year-old Rich Goldsmith began having health problems in June. He experienced shortness of breath, tooth and chest pain.

GREENSBORO, N.C. — According to the American Heart Association, heart disease is a leading cause of death in the country.

One Greensboro man is raising awareness after almost experiencing a heart attack himself.

He said he's learning about the importance of a healthy lifestyle through cardio rehabilitation is what’s helping him prevent that from happening again.  

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Exercising is an activity that’s good for the mind, body, and soul. 

72-year-old Rich Goldsmith works out five days a week in Greensboro to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

"I do free weights. I will do a treadmill. I’ll do a kind of stairstep machine," Goldsmith shared. 

Working out wasn’t always a major priority for Goldsmith, real estate and running a business were. But now he's semi-retired.

"I was slowing down my business anyway, and this really took me out of commission," Goldsmith said.

The sudden blockage of an artery is what took him out of working full-time. 

"Just imagine as your blood is trying to go to your body, only 10% is getting through," Goldsmith explained. 

His health problems started in June of this year. He experienced shortness of breath, tooth, and chest pain.

"I'd walk 100 feet and I'd have to sit down and catch my breath," Goldsmith said. 

This led to surgery.

"Every doctor I talked to had said I mean this is a traumatic surgery. They have said we are very lucky we caught it because I was a candidate for heart attack or stroke," Goldsmith said.

Although the surgery was a success, being in the hospital took a toll on his mental health.

"It is just traumatic psychological as it is physical," Goldsmith said. 

His family lives in Pennsylvania and Chicago. So, the majority of his hospital visits came from friends and church members.

"College Park Baptist Church, Pastor Michael Usey, Michael talked to me before the surgery. He came to the hospital three times to see me," Goldsmith said. 

"People go through difficult times. When our body is hurting, we feel puny and it’s hard to feel the love of another person or the love of God when we are physically hurting," Michael Usey shared.

"The church was just fantastic. They brought me meals for like three months. I get very emotional when I talk about it," Goldsmith said. 

After surgery, Goldsmith had to participate in Moses Cone's eight-week cardiac rehabilitation program to get back on his feet.

"The minute you walk in you are monitored. They took your blood pressure several times when you were there with constant encouragement. You're bonding with other people going through the same situation," Goldsmith said. 

It's through the program that he learned the importance of exercising.

"Just like they have different cardiac needs. They have different orthopedic needs. And maybe they need to start at a low pace or an incumbent bike or maybe you’re ready to do some endurance training," Moses Cone Hospital Cardiologist Dr. Mahesh Chandrasekhar said. 

Learning risk factors of heart disease were also taught through rehab. Dr. Chandrasekhar a cardiologist with Moses Cone said some people have non-modifiable factors.

"You don’t choose if you have a strong family history what you do have choices over or how we can prevent those diseases if you have cholesterol issues is by helping you get your cholesterol down," Chandrasekhar said. 

Exercising, getting a good sleep, and eating healthy are things that can help.

"You just have to really realize you have to change the way you’re living and the way you’re doing things and you don’t want to go back to normal you want to be better than normal," Goldsmith said. 

The choice to maintain a healthy lifestyle is what’s keeping Goldsmith’s strong. He hopes with this story he can help others too. 

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