Medina ISD police chief urges others not to play with their health after suffering a heart attack, dying for 15 minutes

MEDINA COUNTY, Texas – Medina ISD police chief Abel Devora was working on a track meeting on February 28, 2020, when everything went south. He suffered a heart attack and was killed for about 15 minutes until a nearby emergency nurse brought him back to life using CPR.

“That day, I just came in and it was like falling asleep on my feet. So I have no idea what happened, ”Devora said.

The police chief woke up after quintuple bypass surgery and several surgeries to clean his arteries several months later. A year later, he returns to work and lives a different lifestyle.

“I try to walk every day. I try to gain some light weight, I exercise, you know, I try to eat a little better, ”he said.

Devora’s goal is to achieve this one day at a time.

Dr. Dawn Hui, an associate professor of cardiothoracic surgery at UT Health San Antonio who treated Devora, says the recovery from the head is quite remarkable.

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“The disease that affected his heart turned out to be similar to what was happening in other areas, in other vessels, like the ones that went to his brain,” Hui said.

February is National Heart Health Month and Devora helps Hui spread the importance of taking care of health before problems arise. Today he said heart disease is the number one killer in the United States for men and women.

Today he says it is crucial to get under the care of a doctor. He says he often hears people say they have a hard time seeing clues that something isn’t working.

“What I hear most often is, ‘Oh, I thought it was heartburn,'” he said. “One of the symptoms of heart disease is feeling more tired with your regular activity. But sometimes these things are hard to find out. ”

Today he said people would do it until age, but it could be something more.

People with a family history, who smoke and suffer from diabetes and obesity are at high risk. Heart disease can be found in those in their thirties.

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Today he says that moving forward with the problem does not have to mean a dramatic change to change lives, but starts with small options.

“Every meal you eat is a choice you make. “Am I going to eat a healthy meal?” “Am I going to eat unhealthy food” or “Can I make some compromise?” I think small incremental changes are the best we can do, ”Hui said.

Devora goes back to work. He says that before his heart attack, he was just a typical guy who wasn’t great for doctors and often too tired to exercise. He says everyone knows the importance of taking care of himself, but sometimes work, family and lack of time stand in the way.

“For me personally, with myself, I never made excuses. I was tired. I just went home, ”he said. “Basically, it’s all about doing what you know you should do. I mean common sense is that. If you know it, force yourself and that’s the hardest part: forcing yourself to do what you already know. ”

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For more information on heart health, visit the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute page on how to make seven healthy decisions in seven days.