SARASOTA – Lifestyle choices can either fuel our hearts or destroy them. One Suncoast man learned the hard way.
“I’d just make two pounds of bacon at all times,” Dan Prieto said.
Working at restaurants, Prieto was always around food.
“I just always ate poorly, you know, red meat, tacos, burritos, fried foods everything,” Prieto said. “Not that I didn’t know any better, but when you’re younger you just think, ‘Nothing’s gonna happen to me.'”
He maxed out at 250 pounds.
“September 2019 I really started getting headaches, back pain running up and down,” Prieto said.
His body was talking to him, but he didn’t really listen until October 6th.
“Wake up, drink, tailgate,” Prieto said. “I love kettle corn, which is probably the worst stuff for your heart.”
The next morning he thought he had a bad hangover, but it was a heart attack. He was rushed to the hospital and had two stents put in his heart.
“I’m on meds everyday, but the biggest change, like post-heart attack, is diet,” Prieto said. “I don’t eat bacon anymore, and turkey bacon is not a good substitute.”
He runs 5K’s and so far is down 20 pounds.
“In hindsight I probably should’ve known. There’s always signs out there, and I should’ve listened to them,” Prieto said.
He feels lucky to get a second chance, and hopes others like him don’t need that scary wake-up call.
“Maybe order a salad once in a while,” Prieto said, laughing.
Prieto plans to start a nonprofit to educate others about the dangers of an unhealthy lifestyle.