After surviving 2 cardiac arrests, man wants to inspire others to get healthy

NAZARETH, Pa. (WPVI) -- Tim Teel didn't have just one brush with death - his heart stopped twice.

But highly-skilled medical teams brought him back from the brink, and now he's using that second chance to get others to take charge of their own health before it's too late.

For four decades, Teel has crafted fine musical instruments at Martin Guitar. His artistry almost ended two years ago after "not feeling quite right."

"I started having pain on my left side, including my back," Teel recalls.

Getting worse and worse, his wife took him to Lehigh Valley Hospital Carbon, part of Jefferson Health. He barely got into the ER.

"I said, 'Everything's going black,' and that's the last thing I remember," Teel explains.

His heart stopped twice - for about 10 minutes each time - triggered by a massive blockage in the artery feeding 70% of the heart.

"Blood supply to that part of the heart was 100% blocked, and that being said, it really caused collapse of his electrical system," says Dr. Shailendra Singh, an interventional cardiologist at Lehigh Valley Cedar Crest, part of Jefferson Health.

After Teel was flown to the hospital, Dr. Singh quickly put a tiny pump into his struggling heart.

"That was what we decided to do to support the rest of his body while we worked on the heart," Singh said, to restore its blood supply.

Opening that artery wasn't easy.

"He had to go in with a diamond burr to break up that blockage," Teel says.

Dr. Singh adds, "Then we did something called lithotripsy to fracture the calcium."

Miraculously, Teel left the hospital nine days later, with a new appreciation of his life.

"Not knowing I had a heart problem, it really made me kind of take a look at what I was doing for diet and exercise," he says.

And Dr. Singh says his patient has made remarkable changes.

"He has lost considerable weight. He is incredibly healthy," he says, adding, "He was able to come off of medications, because he's done so well."

And Teel is back on his beloved motorcycles.

"The first ride was an 80-mile ride, and it was great," he says with a smile.

Because Teel is a Jehovah's Witness, all the procedures were done with blood-conserving techniques. His uncle died of a similar heart attack, so he feels incredibly blessed.

And from co-workers to his son-in-law, he's got everyone aware of their heart health and adopting good habits.