Fitness instructor bounced back quickly from a heart attack at 39

Despite a stuffy nose and tightness in his chest, Jason Shaw felt like running.

Of course he did.

At 39, he'd been exercising nearly every day for more than half his life. He'd run seven marathons. He led an outdoor exercise group in Indianapolis that met before dawn year-round, no matter the weather. And a month before that spring day, Shaw – a full-time software consultant – had taken a big step toward his passion project by signing a lease for a gym he planned to open.

When he woke up that morning in May 2021, he thought he was feeling the residual effects of a COVID-19 booster shot or maybe a sinus infection brought on by spring allergies.

But then there was the intense chest pain. He blamed it on his customary indigestion. This time, though, he also felt tightness in his shoulder and jaw, so much so that he asked his girlfriend at the time, Megan Sanctorum, if he was grinding his teeth at night.

It couldn't be a heart attack, he thought.

Shaw went to an urgent care clinic, complaining only about the breathing problems. The doctor suspected pneumonia and gave him a prescription for antibiotics. Shaw went home to rest. The urge to go for a run came a few hours later.

"That's always been my cure-all, was exercise," Shaw said. "So I thought, 'I'll get at least a moderate workout.' And that's when it got a lot worse."

Across the street from his apartment, he jogged up a few stairs. Pain exploded in his chest.

He looked up the symptoms on his phone, and everything pointed to a heart attack. Refusing to believe it, he went home and cooked dinner.

When he couldn't swallow his food, he lay down, holding his chest. Sanctorum insisted he get to the emergency room.

"I know you don't think it's anything," Sanctorum said. "But this is still abnormal."

By the time Shaw reached the ER, he'd started to cough up blood and his lips were turning blue. A test found his blood oxygen level was 88%, an indication that he did have pneumonia. An electrocardiogram showed no problems with his heartbeat, but blood tests found high levels of troponin, an enzyme that gets released during a cardiac event.

Further testing revealed two major blockages in the arteries leading to his heart. He needed a double bypass operation.

"You gotta be kidding me. That's impossible," Shaw told the doctor.

The doctor explained that loosened clots had caused the blockages, likely because of inflammation caused by the pneumonia. Surgery was scheduled for two days later.

Because of pandemic restrictions on visitors, the wait was especially lonely. The hospital staff encouraged Shaw that his heart was uncommonly strong thanks to his physical fitness. That's why the EKG hadn't shown signs of trouble.

Then, the night before his surgery, the pain returned, starting in his chest and spreading to his shoulder and jaw. He was having another heart attack.

"I started to kind of freak out at that point," he said. "And, of course, that made my heart race."

They gave him nitroglycerin to expand his arteries to increase blood flow and sent him into surgery as soon as possible. The hospital also waived some restrictions so he could see his girlfriend, father and sister on his way to the operating room.

Nearly 12 hours later, the open-heart surgery was a success. And, as the hospital staff had suggested, Shaw's overall cardiovascular health made a big difference.

Within three days, Shaw accomplished enough milestones – standing 10 times without using his arms and walking down the hallway – that he was allowed to continue his recovery at his dad's house. The nurses told him it was the fastest they had seen anyone get out of the hospital for any surgery, let alone a double bypass.

Clearly, his lifelong passion for fitness was paying off.

Once home, Shaw was told not to lift anything heavier than a shoe. He couldn't pull on anything, not even to open the refrigerator door. He had to sleep upright in a recliner. Sneezing was excruciating, even with holding a heart-shaped pillow to his chest to keep his sternum in place.

He was allowed to go on walks, and soon he was walking a mile and a half to his cardiac rehabilitation appointments. Only three weeks after his surgery, Shaw was running 45 minutes on a treadmill in the rehab office.

He gradually resumed leading the outdoor, year-round exercises. This past spring, three years after his heart attack, he finished a half-marathon. Rather than go for a personal best, he chose another challenge: Pushing a man in a wheelchair the entire race.

Shaw's ordeal has made him even more of an evangelist for physical health. Good fitness and a heart-healthy diet not only help prevent cardiovascular problems, but they can also help people recover more quickly if they do have a problem.

Also, he learned, if all the signs point to a heart attack, believe it.

"Listen to the people around you," he said. "Don't ignore the signs. Don't be stubborn. You cannot survive a heart attack on your own."

Stories From the Heart chronicles the inspiring journeys of heart disease and stroke survivors, caregivers and advocates.