Doctors seeing more young heart attack victims

By Judy Fortin, CNN

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By Beth Boehne

Story Created: Feb 19, 2008 at 6:02 PM EST

Story Updated: Feb 19, 2008 at 6:02 PM EST

(CNN) Every year in the U.S., nearly 1.2 million men and women suffer a heart attack. Not all of the victims are old.

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,” he said. “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 said.

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?’ I usually say, ‘That was my last heart attack,’" he said. “I certainly don't plan to make a regular event of this.”

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