By most people’s standards, J. Floyd Hall, Ed.D., has lived a remarkable life. He has met U.S. presidents, played three years of minor league professional baseball, attended hundreds of Atlanta Braves games, and won major awards for his work in the field of education. He also has had two heart attacks—one of which nearly took his life.

Dr. Hall’s first heart attack occurred in 1980 at age 55 when he was serving as superintendent of the School District of Greenville County. For 10 years, he and his colleagues had worked tirelessly to integrate the schools and keep peace in the community—the stress of which, doctors say, likely caused his heart attack.

“There was never a quiet moment,” he recalled.

After he recovered from quadruple bypass surgery, Dr. Hall enrolled in a new program for cardiac patients called HeartLife®. The program was designed to help reduce the risk of additional complications and, in some cases, reverse the effects of heart disease using medically directed exercise, nutrition counseling, and stress-reducing techniques.  HeartLife is now one of the top cardiac rehabilitation and prevention programs in the country.

As one of the first participants, Dr. Hall came to know the HeartLife staff well. They monitored his exercise three times a week and taught him how to eat a heart-healthy diet. He also developed relationships with other HeartLife participants, one of whom later helped him write a book about his life.

Hall remained a model participant until 1984 when a job took him away from Greenville and his supportive HeartLife network. He retired in 1988 and returned to Greenville , but it wasn’t until his second heart attack in 1992—the one that nearly killed him—that he returned to the program.

“The first heart attack got my attention, but it was nothing like the second one,” he said. “I was in bad shape. The HeartLife program saved my life.”

When Hall came out of his quintuple bypass surgery and learned that he had twice almost died during surgery, he immediately rededicated himself to the program.

Even now, at the age of 81, Hall continues to exercise three times a week and follows a heart-healthy diet. In fact, since he first started participating in the program back in 1980, he has walked over 31,000 miles—around the earth and then some!

Hall has also made it a personal mission to share his story and what he has learned with others. He tells people, “Don’t wait until you have a problem. HeartLife can help you fix those problems, but it can also help you prevent them.”