From Heart Attack to Health Advocate: How One Man Changed His Life and Inspired Others

From Heart Attack to Health Advocate: Dmitry’s Journey

Until recently, entrepreneur Dmitry Bolashev lived like many of us: working tirelessly and constantly stressed. But a heart attack at 41 changed everything. This life-altering event led Dmitry to create CardioToday, an informational project aimed at educating people, especially men like himself, about health risks.

The Fear of Death: A Powerful Motivator

Dmitry’s journey began five years ago when he was rushed to the hospital with a heart attack. The fear of death was a stark wake-up call. “When they wheeled me into the operating room, I passed out but knew that if I survived, I would change many things in my life,” he recalls. “The fear of death is a very strong motivator.”

A Day Etched in Memory

Dmitry vividly remembers that day. “I felt terrible, my chest was hurting. While waiting for the ambulance, I went out to the balcony to smoke. I always ‘thought over problems’ this way, literally nailing the lid of my coffin shut,” he says.

Doctors managed to save Dmitry with an emergency operation. “The doctors said that if it weren’t for the operation, I wouldn’t have made it. For the last eight years before the heart attack, I was under constant stress. I had my own business, a lot of responsibility. I relaxed with alcohol, smoked a pack and a half a day… I loved sandwiches with lard, spread a finger thick. As a result, it turned out in the hospital that my vessels were 85% clogged,” he shares.

Quitting Smoking and Changing Habits

Today, Dmitry doesn’t smoke at all. Quitting was tough; he even dreamed about cigarettes at night. “I just realized that nicotine sharply constricts and relaxes the vessels. For vessels with plaques, smoking can be fatal. After five cigarettes, a thrombus can break off. When you imagine this, you definitely don’t want to smoke,” he explains.

Dmitry has also significantly reduced his alcohol intake. “Not a bottle of whiskey with friends, but 50 grams. I enjoy the quality and the bouquet of flavors,” he says. Now, he gets much less nervous and jokes that he has bid farewell to perfectionism, not without the long-term help of a psychologist.

Believing in Possibilities

“I believe that nothing is impossible for a person. There is always a solution. If you can’t get pleasure from smoking, then I will start getting it from delicious food. I can’t say that I am now completely correct, in a white coat. I just say that you can learn to take care of yourself,” Dmitry shares.

Creating CardioToday

After leaving the hospital, Dmitry found himself with a million questions and no answers. This gap in information led to the creation of CardioToday, a website where professional journalists write articles about heart diseases. He also started a series of meetings between doctors and employees of organizations and factories.

“All this was done to push men to go to the doctor. But women easily came to meetings with doctors – for the sake of their men, and those – with great difficulty. This is what most people do,” Dmitry observes.

Seeing Himself in Others

Dmitry sees his former self in these men: “It was no big deal for me to go to the clinic either. But for this, I had to get up early in the morning, not drink coffee, not have breakfast, not smoke, go somewhere. Oh no! We’ll do it on Monday. And not this one, but the next one.”

“And then – bang, and you’re in the hospital. Someone is lucky, like me: I survived and quite normally rebuilt my life, and someone is not – a person dies. I want to live! At least until 90 years old. I have good genetics,” he adds.

For further reading on health and wellness, you can visit American Heart Association.