It's a date that sticks in Peter Gibson's mind: March 4, 1995.
After his regular gym workout, Gibson returned home, watched a bit of TV, and had some dinner. His back was hurting and he thought he pulled a muscle at the gym, so he decided to take a bath. After dipping his foot into the tub, he suddenly felt very nauseous.
He passed out and hit the floor.
Somehow, his wife managed to drag him downstairs to their car and wrestle him into a seat. She drove him to Lions Gate Hospital and likely saved his life.
"I thank her for that all the time, by the way," says Gibson.
At 43, Gibson, a North Vancouver resident, had had a heart attack.
It was a surprise to the active young man who thought he was "too athletic, too healthy," to have a heart attack. He admits he was "living in a bit of denial."
Gibson's father had died at a relatively young age from diabetes and heart disease, and Gibson says he may have inherited a genetic vulnerability to heart disease, but he strongly believes that his lifestyle at the time was the biggest contributing factor.
"After the heart attack I made some very, very hard choices about how I was going to live the rest of my life."
Gibson changed his diet, reduced stress in his life and quit smoking.
"If I have one disappointment in my life, that is it. I wish I'd never, ever smoked,' he says.
A self-described meat-and-potatoes-guy at the time of his heart attack, Gibson says he switched to more fish, more vegetables and more fruit, healthy food he didn't eat regularly before that.
Now 61, Gibson is retired and still feels lucky to wake up every day.
LIFESTYLE A MAJOR FACTOR
"The Heart and Stroke Foundation will tell you one of the first symptoms of a heart attack is a thing called death because 52 per cent of people who have a heart attack die," he says.
"It struck me hard because I believe it. Every day I try to make death wait because there are so many good things to do in our lives," he says. "I made a pledge that I would change my life, and I did. And I'm happy to be on this side of the ground."
About three years ago, Gibson's journey with heart disease took another turn.
He received open-heart surgery to clear blockages in his arteries, and his surgeon told him he came through the surgery so well because he was so healthy going in.
"When I woke up from the surgery I was looking around and there were all white walls and white ceilings and white nursing uniforms, and I thought I must have passed through and gone to the other side. I said to the nurse, "What side am I on?" And she looked at me, a stunned look, and said, "What are you talking about?" And I said, "Have I passed on?" and she said, "Well, I'll tell you what, Mr. Gibson, I'm not an angel so you're OK," he recalls with a laugh.
Heart disease is a lifestyle disease for the most part, notes Gibson. He gets frustrated when he sees people who could make better lifestyle choices but don't, and says it's time for everyone to find out more about heart disease and make better choices.
