Biggest loser fitness expert bob harper on heart attack recovery

In fact, he was at high risk for both heart attack and stroke, thanks to an inherited cholesterol abnormality — high lipoprotein(a), a particle in the blood that carries cholesterol, fat and

proteins. What’s more, his mother had a heart attack and died at age 70, as did her father. Harper spent eight days in the hospital, where he had two stents put in, embarked on a cardiac

recovery program and began taking a regimen of medications (including a statin to lower his cholesterol and the blood thinner Brilinta to reduce his risk of having another heart attack).

Approximately 20 percent of people 45 and older who have a heart attack will have a second one within five years of their first, according to the American Heart Association, so taking such

preventive steps is crucial. Once he went home, Harper grappled with his new reality, which included restrictions on his physical activities. He suffered severe anxiety and became depressed.

“I didn’t know who I was if I wasn’t the guy in the gym,” he says. “I felt fragile and incomplete.” To help himself emotionally, he relied on support from friends and family members and his

beloved dog Karl, and learned better stress management strategies. “It’s been a challenging year, especially given what I’ve done for a living,” says Harper, coauthor of the new book _The

Super Carb Diet_. “It was a slow process of building my relationship and trust with my heart again. I’m an ideal patient now; I’m doing exactly what my doctors tell me to do.” He has dialed

back the intensity of his CrossFit workouts, does more yoga and walking in the city; having given up red meat, he now consumes more plant-based proteins and fish. Along the way, he has

learned to live with some level of uncertainty about his future health. “Being a heart attack survivor, I’m in a club I never thought I would be in,” he says. “I have tremendous gratitude

for this second chance. I don’t take things for granted; I focus more on the here and now. Mindfulness is super-important to me. It keeps me calmer and helps me manage my stress.” In recent

months, Harper has been working on a program called Survivors Have Heart, sponsored by AstraZeneca, to help educate patients who have had a heart attack about the importance of working

closely with their doctors and staying committed to the treatment and lifestyle plan they’re prescribed. “I have an opportunity now to help a whole new group of people,” he says. “Paying it

forward is personal for me and I’m passionate about it.”