Two community leaders are taking a special interest in programs about heart disease this month.

Radio personality Frank Barber and former city manager Wayne Stephens are survivors of heart disease.

The two became friends while broadcasting Tiffin University football games a few years ago. Both have received cardiopulmonary rehabilitation at Mercy Tiffin Hospital.

The two agreed to tell their stories hoping to make citizens more away of their own heart health.

March is not a good month for Frank Barber. Nearly six years ago, he was visiting relatives in new York, when he became seriously ill. For a couple months before that, he had been feeling sluggish with what he thought to be flu or some other “winter” problem. he remembers waking up in a bed and learning only half of his heart was functioning properly.

“The next thing I know, I had two stents and pacemaker. That was 2005. then nothing happened really until almost a year ago … when I had another episode. That was an 80 percent blockage in the artery that didn’t have a pacemaker. so now I’m the proud owner of three stents,” Barber said.

Because he could not pinpoint pain directly in the heart, he did not believe he had suffered a heart attack. Tests indicated otherwise. the second time, he wasted no time going to the hospital. when he was strong enough, he began cardiac rehabilitation three times a week.

Barber said his illness made him reflect on his parents’ heart problems. he lost his mother to a heart attack when she was 49, and less serious heart problems also existed in his father’s family.

“Of course, you never think it’s going to be you,” he said. “A week before I had this problem, this time, I was playing tennis … flying around the tennis court with no pain whatsoever – but tired. so maybe there was some subtle sign,” he said.

Barber said he had become a careless eater.

He continues to work out Tuesdays and Fridays in the cardiac maintenance program at Tiffin Mercy. Those sessions are $5 each and open to anyone diagnosed with heart or lung problems.

Heart problems run on both sides of the family for Wayne Stephens, but like Barber, Stephens did not attribute his first symptoms to heart problems.

Stephens was forewarned about his family health history in 1993 when his mother died from a heart attack at age 69. she had had a stroke and another heart attack before that. His father lived to 80, but he had his first heart attack at 57. Wayne’s older brother died of a heart attack at 64 and a younger brother had a series of strokes at 55.

A heart catherization showed his heart to be healthy at the time, but the doctor warned Stephens he was at high risk.

Running was his preferred exercise, but then he hurt his knee and accepted the less active job of city administrator.

In November 2009, Stephens felt a burning sensation while he was mowing the lawn. he was diagnosed with GERD (gastro-esophageal reflux disease). the doctor prescribed medication and ordered a stress test for his patient. Stephen’s knee prevented him from completing the test, so it was deemed “inconclusive.”

The pain returned on Christmas Eve, while visiting relatives in Uniontown. another stress test was ruled invalid.

June 8, 2010, the burning took Stephens to the emergency room. he was taken by ambulance to Mercy St. Vincent Medical Center in Toledo, where two stents installed.

Barber and Stephens have learned heart attack symptoms vary, and symptoms in women may not be the same as those for men. Stephens said his brother Larry experienced pain between his shoulder blades and sought relief from a chiropractor. Some people have no detectable symptoms, but tests tell the truth.

“My doctor describes them as ‘silent’ heart attacks where you don’t even know sometimes you’ve had them,” Barber said. “Don’t get that feeling of invincibility, because even athletes get a terrible surprise.”

“My cardiologist gave me very specific instructions,” Stephens said. “A low-fat, low-sodium diet and as much exercise as I could tolerate.”

Both survivors had high marks for the cardiac rehabilitation they received at Mercy Tiffin. when people in rehab try to work harder than they should, nurses caution them to slow down or adjust equipment in some way.

“I didn’t listen five years ago,” Barber said. “I thought I knew it all, but this time I was listening very carefully. I got a second chance, so I’m taking the opportunity to make the most of it.”

“You’ve got to stay active,” Stephens said. “Had Frank and I both not been active, it could have been a whole lot worse … if we hadn’t been active, what happened to us might have been fatal.”