A 6 a.m. fitness class was nearing its end when Kyle Hartley paused his rowing session to take a sip of water. After a few gulps, he sat down briefly before suddenly collapsing onto a nearby classmate. He wasn’t breathing, and his heart had stopped.
Someone immediately dialed 911. The instructor, Juli Mosnes, along with several classmates, carefully laid Kyle on the floor. Two individuals, who happened to be nurses, quickly started Hands-Only CPR. Julie retrieved the gym’s automated external defibrillator (AED), and the team continued their emergency efforts until paramedics arrived.
At a nearby Virginia Beach hospital, doctors diagnosed Kyle’s cardiac arrest as a heart attack. An almost entirely blocked left anterior descending artery—responsible for supplying blood to the front of the heart—was found to be 99% blocked. He was then airlifted to a larger hospital, where a stent was placed to open the artery. To assist his recovery, Kyle was placed on a life-support machine.
At 39 years old, Kyle—who used to play college soccer and now owns a family business—was set to celebrate a friend’s birthday with a golf game after his morning workout. A week later, he awoke to a life forever altered.
His recovery process was challenging. One of his legs was in traction because of circulation issues, but a delicate surgery managed to save it. His kidneys were slow to heal, requiring dialysis, which he feared might become part of his new normal. Weeks later, his kidney function fully returned.
Kyle moved from sitting up in bed to standing, taking shaky steps and then walking short distances down the hallway. With little appetite, he lost around 50 pounds during his month-long hospital stay, dropping from about 190 pounds to 140.
Doctors couldn’t determine why Kyle experienced a heart attack. Despite being in good health—exercising regularly, eating well, and not smoking or having high blood pressure—the only family history that hinted at heart issues was his grandfather dying from a heart attack.
Since he couldn’t qualify for hospital-based cardiac rehab due to his leg, Kyle began walking with his father—initially 100 feet, then 200, gradually looping around their neighborhood. He added simple exercises like sit-ups, push-ups, and light weights. Kyle reflected, “You just keep building it up little by little.”
Two months after the heart attack, Kyle returned to the hospital for a skin graft to close a leg wound. About a year later, he was back in the gym, accompanied by his father and a few friends for a 6 a.m. workout.
“It was therapeutic,” Kyle said. “It made me feel like I had overcome something.” Over time, he eased back into his usual routines, noticing occasional shortness of breath—likely part of rebuilding endurance. Though his heart maintained a strong function overall, it was irregular.
Two and a half years later, Kyle was back on his rowing machine at the gym. As he listened to the trainer’s instructions, his vision blurred, and everything seemed to smear as if watching a still-motion film. Then he fainted.
When he woke up, Kyle was breathless and looking at the ceiling. The trainer, Madeline Dye— a college student and certified lifeguard—had performed CPR and used the AED. Kyle thought, “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
In the ambulance, he worried he might not make it to the hospital. He had another cardiac arrest, but this time, it wasn’t caused by a heart attack. He was hospitalized for five days and received an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) that monitors his heartbeat and delivers shocks if dangerous rhythms are detected.
He completed 10 weeks of cardiac rehab, which boosted his confidence significantly. “That was an incredible experience,” he said.
Despite his confidence, Kyle returned to the gym—though not alone. His girlfriend, Alex Stolle, initially expressed concern. “I don’t want to hold you back,” she said, “but I’m scared. Maybe we should start with yoga or walking instead.”
Seven months after his second arrest, Kyle returned to his usual gym class with Alex by his side. Now, he attends two to three sessions weekly, and they never miss the workout on the anniversaries of his cardiac events.
“Being there gives me peace,” Kyle shared. “The staff has been supportive, and I feel safe knowing there are eyes on me. My exercise routine combined with my defibrillator gives me confidence—they’re like a safety net if anything else happens.”
Now 43, Kyle wears a heart monitor at all times at the gym. “They have it ready for me when I step in,” he said. Since his 2024 cardiac arrest, he’s also focused on better nutrition, adequate sleep, and cutting back social activities to prioritize self-care.
“She’s the healthiest I’ve seen him,” Alex remarked. She sees Kyle’s experience—having a heart attack and cardiac arrest at such a young age—as both a blessing and a curse. “He looked so healthy, and his strength helped him bounce back. But it’s also made us wonder, ‘Will this be something he always has to deal with?’ I think Kyle’s starting to believe it’s not. That he can truly be himself again.”
For those concerned about heart health, it’s wise to review studies on how drinking milk impacts heart disease risk, and how herbal supplements might interfere with heart rhythm. Additional research into how espresso affects cholesterol and how Vitamin K2 could reduce heart disease is also available.
Written by Deborah Lynn Blumberg, American Heart Association.
