Tom’s Heart Timeline

Two weeks before the heart attack, Tom paddle-boarded five miles in the ocean and hiked twelve miles with 3,000 feet of vertical climb in 90-degree heat in the Los Trancos Open Space Preserve with his girlfriend Natali. His running times had slowed from 7-minute miles to close to 10 minutes, but he attributed this to age.

The Day Everything Changed: On a gorgeous morning in Hampton, NH, Tom ran three miles to his annual physical appointment. After half a mile, he experienced breathlessness, sweating, and a low blood sugar sensation—but pushed through to the doctor’s office.

Tom collapsed outside the doctor’s office, writhing in pain in the parking lot. Two physicians from another practice found him and called 911. The physician’s assistant came down and told them Tom was having a panic attack.

Tom arrived at Portsmouth Hospital and was diagnosed with a 90% blockage of his LAD (left anterior descending) artery—known as a “widowmaker” heart attack with only a 12% survival rate. He called Carmelo from the hospital to tell him it was too late for the Duke tests. Emergency stent procedure was scheduled immediately.

After the stent was placed, Tom woke in excruciating chest pain. He told nurses “something is wrong” but was told it was normal discomfort from the procedure. The stent had not adhered properly to the artery wall, causing rethrombosis—the blockage went from 90% to 100%. Tom went into cardiac arrest, oscillating between VTach and VFib for eight minutes. He received 8-12 defibrillator shocks. His ejection fraction dropped to 15% (normal is 50-70%). Survival rate for cardiac arrest: 25%.

Two days after the heart attack, the hospital staff informed Tom they would remove two IV medications that were helping control his VTach episodes. The physican assistant (PA) came in and said it was “standard operating procedure” and they were going to “roll the dice.” Tom cried uncontrollably, terrified of another cardiac arrest.

Tom’s sister visited with a birthday cupcake. They celebrated his 57th birthday in the hospital room. His friend Rob told another friend not to visit because Tom “didn’t look good.”

Tom was released with a LifeVest defibrillator ($3,000/month) despite his EF being at 30 and doctor’s recommendation. Insurance refused to pay for it, calling it “not a necessary expenditure.” Tom felt otherwise.

Walking two blocks to the beach was debilitating. Tom couldn’t make it to the produce section at the grocery store without resting on crates of bananas, thinking “I am going to die.” Seeing unhealthy beach-goers frolicking added to his angst and frustration.

Tom tried to obtain his medical records to share with his cardiologist friend at Duke. His primary care office maintained they had 30 days to release records. After multiple visits by Natali and friend Tom Ludwig, records were finally released only after threatening lawyer intervention.

With Natali’s tenacity and daily encouragement, Tom progressed from walking two blocks at 24 minutes per mile to walking three miles at 18 minutes per mile. Life was: sleep, eat, walk, sleep, eat, walk, play cards/games, read, sleep, meditate, breathe. Repeat.

Tom’s friend “Haymaker” at Duke insisted on an exploratory cardiac catheterization to review the stent procedure and echo-cardiograms. Bob, an interventional cardiologist, explored Tom’s heart for over two hours and concluded his arteries were unobstructed. This was a pivotal moment—empirical evidence that Tom was physically healed. It restored some trust in medical professionals after so much incompetence.

Two weeks before the heart attack, Tom had committed to renting a home in Bella Vista, Arkansas for a year. With both sons in college, he was looking for a change—the mountain biking drew him to the area. The move via Raleigh was fraught with anxiety. Natali’s mantra: “You are as nervous as a cat on a hot tin roof.”

Friend and coworker Bikash Behera gifted Tom an Art of Living workshop. The weekend was insightful, powerful, soothing, impactful, and transformative. It was an amalgamation of meditation, therapy, transcendent being, breathwork, and hypnosis—another pivotal moment in subconscious recovery. Tom adopted Eckhart Tolle’s philosophy: when faced with a challenging situation, either remove yourself, fully accept it, or change it.

Did Tom’s intellect get impaired during the 8 minutes of cardiac arrest? Was his balance affected by loss of blood flow to the brain? He questioned his cognitive ability, memory, physical stamina, and coordination through playing card games, darts, chess, and pool. He loathed being on medication—he had taken pride in “not being on anything” before the heart attack.

Breaking Through Mental Barriers – “Whatever It Takes”; Tom resolved to start mountain biking beyond the 1.7-mile Tweeter Bird green trail circle. The mantra for the first year of recovery: “This shit has to stop.” It was imperative to saturate himself in everything he had enjoyed before the heart attack. Tom and Natali embarked on an odyssey of scuba diving, hiking, motorcycle riding, snowboarding, four-wheeling, snowmobiling, biking, and dancing in exotic lands and at home in NWA.

Tom and Natali traveled to Bora Bora, Whistler for skiing, and Croatia for diving and motorcycling. Each trip was a test of physical and mental recovery. Nightmares, visions, and distress continued but were abating. There was lots of anger, indignation, and regret—but also growing confidence and joy.

Inspired by an LSD experience, Tom sent personal thank-you cards to 40 mentors, coaches, and life advisors who positively influenced his life. This gesture led to rekindling friendships, advising on startups, collaborating on pay-it-forward endeavors, and motivation to write books. The cards read: “Your virtues, selflessness, and thoughtfulness enabled me to exploit my strengths throughout my personal and professional life.”

Tom turned 60, celebrating with an extended, multiple-city, multi-day, month-long celebration. He completed “60 at 60″—60 miles of mountain biking over three days in NWA during his birthday week. In June, his best friend from age 14 held a 60th birthday bash in the Bay Area with a band. In October, a nine-day Park City and Moab mountain biking extravaganza with three close friends.

Tom traveled to the Catskills, India, and Park City/Utah to commune with close friends established at work. Enduring relationships make life worth living. He reflected on where he met most of his closest friends: 8 from work, 1 from education, 1 from fitness. These unconditional connections provide meaning to life.

Tom’s Heart submitted an entry to the Champion the Challenges 2025 CarePlan Challenge for the Heart and Stroke AI Sidekick mobile application—the only direct-to-patient cardiac recovery digital platform powered with clinical, evidence-based knowledge. Features include: AI-powered assistant, integration with fitness watches and rings, doctor records, pharmacies, medication tracking, progress reports using gamification, recovery stories, and American Heart Association resources.