He is a successful partner in the law firm Marshall Diel and Myers and a former cricketer — he never imagined he would become a warning story about the danger of heart attacks for seemingly healthy individuals in their 40s

Ronald Myers, tried to spend his weekends with his eight-year-old son Zach while working hard at his demanding career.

But one Saturday last August he nearly lost everything as a crushing weight seemed to land on his chest leaving him unable to speak to Zach.

Ronnie, as he likes to be referred to, at the age of 45, rarely ate badly and looking at him you wouldn't say he is overweight.

But he did smoke a pack of cigarettes a day and says he could not possibly keep track of the number of cups of coffee he drank.

And he would routinely wake at 1 or 2 a.m. and continue working through the night, he told The Royal Gazette.Originally from Trinidad, Ronnie came to Bermuda 14 years ago.His owl habits were something that had become ingrained while he was in law school when he found that his focus was clearer when he was able to sit at his desk in silence through the night.But it was also these lifestyle habits that led him to feeling short of breath and unable to speak to his son on Saturday, August 25 of last year."I had just picked up my wife at the Airport from a business trip," he said. "When she gets back from a trip she likes to take naps, so she went to take a nap and Zach and I went to the family room where we were playing a game."I felt like I was having indigestion. I just thought I was paying for eating out with my mother-in-law the night before."I took some Pepto Bismol but it got worse. I felt like there was pressure on my chest, but I still wasn't thinking heart attack because one doesn't. It became more difficult to breathe. At this stage my son was saying 'dad, dad' but when I couldn't go and pick him up and comfort him I thought 'this is something serious'." Finally, Zach woke up his mom to let her know something was wrong with his father.Even though he was experiencing all the symptoms of a heart attack, Ronnie was worried that when he got to the hospital, they would tell him it was nothing more than gas.One look at Ronnie, though, and the Emergency Room nurse rushed him through to have an electrocardiogram, ECG, which records the electrical activity of the heart. During all of this and even as he dawned on him that he was having a heart attack, Ronnie was thinking: "This serves you right for not exercising over the years." He's able to laugh at times about the experience that sent him to Johns Hopkins in Baltimore for a quadruple bypass, but Ronnie also chokes to tears.As he recalls the bypass surgery he remembers thinking: "My father had a triple so I am one better than dad." But even these surreal memories are interspersed with those of leaving his young son.Now 46, after just celebrating his birthday, Ronnie is taking stock of his life, has quit smoking, tries to sleep through the night and appreciate his family.He credits his wife and family for getting him through the surgery and recovery process.Myrian Balitian-Dill, deputy chairman of the Bermuda Heart Foundation says it's this support that is the key for anyone trying to go through a lifestyle change.From the 100 Day Challenge to recovering from a heart attack, going through it with a team is easier, she said."People don't stop and think until something happens," Mrs. Balitian-Dill said. "This was Ronnie's lesson." She encourages everyone to make the decision to change their lifestyles before they need family support for heart attack recovery. That's why the Bermuda Heart Foundation is sponsoring the Know Your Numbers screenings each week during the month of February. This Wednesday, February 13, between noon and 2 p.m. in the lobby of the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital the public can have their blood pressure, blood sugar, waist and weight accurately measured.These are the numbers the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association say will indicate your risk of heart disease.Though, Ronnie's cholesterol was fine, Mrs. Balitian-Dill said it was his smoking and stress levels which might have been indicated in these numbers that left him at risk for a heart attack. But now the smell of smoke makes him sick and he has his office painted a deep purple with calming music piping over his stereo.Ronnie is clearly trying to make the necessary changes."I have a personal sense of mortality now," he said. "I have just become more grateful because it's just so easy to have it taken from you. I had to get close to death to realise it."