Brian Connell considers himself a lucky guy. At the age of 39, he's physically active. He's got a high level job. and he's also a heart attack survivor.

"I know I was overweight and obviously had some other risk factors against me. I wish i did more to prevent it, certainly."

Brian is doing plenty of things now. He met with a nutritionist and changed his diet. He gets regular exercise and takes medication to control his cholesterol. He also gets regular check-ups.

It's not unusual for Dr. Jeffrey Popma to see younger heart patients.

"We have dozens of patients in our system every year who have been under 40 years old who have suffered a major heart attack."

He says getting medical help quickly is the key to survival. It made all the difference for Brian.

"When people ask, "was that your first heart attack?", and i usually say, "that was my last heart attack."

Brian says he certainly doesn't plan to make a regular event of this.