Surviving a heart attack

New Haven, Conn. (WTNH) - Surviving a heart attack really comes down to beating the clock and it starts with knowing your symptoms and calling 9-1-1.

More than three weeks ago, Windsor barber Fred Cecchini had a second heart attack.

"I had severe back pain right up between my shoulders like a knife going right through me and I had shortness of breath and I was sweating a lot," Cecchini said. "I just got through working out, stopped at the store because my wife wanted me to pick up a few things and it happened so I went to the desk and asked the lady to call 9-1-1."

"It seemed like a matter of minutes. They were taking my clothes off, and I was signing a release form and they were prepping me for surgery and next thing I knew, I was in recovery and they had put two stents in," he said.

It was 26 minutes from the time Fred arrived at Hartford Hospital to the operating room.

"Twenty-six minutes is what we refer to in Fred's case as the door to balloon time. When you're having a heart attack what happens is you get a clot that blocks one of the arteries that go to the heart," explained Dr. Paul Thompson, Hartford Hospital. "The quicker you can get that blood clot opened, that blockage open, the more heart muscle is saved. We always say in cardiology, minutes mean muscle."

Another timely factor: an EKG was done enroute by EMS personnel.

"That electro-cardiogram is transferred by the internet, wirelessly into the emergency department, where a doctor can read it and say yep, that's a heart attack," Dr. Thompson said.

Many of Fred's loyal customers waited for him to get back on his feet. Meantime, Fred is back to working out and is watching his diet even more closely.

"They did an ultrasound a couple of days later and told me my heart was fine and was working at what it was suppose to be," he said.

Fred is back to working out and is watching his diet even more closely.