ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Feb. 29 wasn't just Leap Day, it also marked the last day of American Heart Month.

Bayfront Health chief nursing officer Lorraine Parker said 365,000 people not already in hospitals have heart attacks every year, and 60-80% of them never make it to emergency rooms.

Dr. Traci Ryan with Bayfront said chest pain isn't the only sign you may need to seek help. Nausea, trouble breathing, jaw pain, and pain between the shoulder blades are also symptoms.

What You Need To Know

  • A Sunstar Paramedics crew was honored with Bayfront Health's Phoenix Award for their efforts to save a 32-year-old man who was having a heart attack

  •  Alexander Gehle said he was playing flag football on Jan. 7 when he felt symptoms, including chest pain and tightness, nausea and sweating

  •  The team at Bayfront's Crossroads ER, where Gehle drove himself, said he may not have survived if he delayed getting help

  • Learn more about heart attack symptoms and how you can lower your risk

"Identifying the subtle symptoms is so important to getting here and getting care that you need," Ryan said. "So, realizing, 'Man, I'm feeling a little nauseous, feel a little sweaty.'"

Those were among the symptoms Alexander Gehle said he experienced on Jan. 7 while playing flag football.

"I started to feel really nauseous. So, I stepped off the field to have some water, maybe just running too much, maybe a little exhaustion," he said. "I started to feel some tightness in my chest."

Gehle said the chest pain became worse.

"My father passed away of a heart attack at 28 years old, so all I could think about was, you know, maybe this is happening to me," he said.

He drove himself to the nearest emergency room, Bayfront Health's Crossroads ER on 66th Street. N.

Parker said the ER opened last June to bring emergent care closer to people who live in that area of St. Pete.

"We are spread throughout the community to make sure that stories like these can be told again," Parker said during an event Thursday to honor those who provided care to Gehle. "I don't want to steal his thunder, but as you hear his story, making a different choice to go further away, probably he would not be sitting here with us."

Gehle told those in attendance that he arrived at Crossroads sweating, but feeling ice cold.

"I'm only 32 years old, and I've always said I wasn't afraid to die," he said. "I was afraid to die that day."

A team from Sunstar Paramedics transported Gehle to the hospital.

"It was going to be a normal, easy call," said paramedic Stefanie Wolff. "It's something that you run routinely."

Wolff said Gehle's heart stopped after the team got him on a stretcher — something that happened multiple times on the way to the hospital.

"In between compressions, he was awake and talking," Wolff said. "So, I went from doing compressions to talking to him and him saying that, you know, he was scared and he is the sole provider for his family and he wanted his wife and kids."

At one point, Wolff said Gehle asked if she believed in God.

"I said, 'Yes, of course,'" she said. "He was like, 'Can you do one thing for me?' And I said, 'Anything. What is it?' He was like, 'Will you please pray for me?' Absolutely. Absolutely. And shortly after that, I was doing compressions again, and I never left him. I stayed with him the entire time."

One of Gehle's doctors said the main artery supplying blood to his heart was completely blocked.

Another member of the team that cared for him was Dr. Curtis Bryan, who said the initial group that worked on Gehle opened the artery on the front of his heart, and a device in his groin was providing partial support for his heart. The team then decided to implant an Impella device to allow for better recovery. 

"The prognosis was unknown," said Bryan. "We did not know if he would neurologically recover. He was still on some support for his heart, and we came to a decision in the road of what do next. Given his young age and potential for recovery at that young age, we decided to be most aggressive with his care."

After a nearly three-week hospital stay, Gehle was able to go home. 

On Thursday, Wolff, along with Sunstar EMTs Erica Peterson and Darlene Florkowski and critical care transport nurse Adam Bates, was honored with Bayfront's Phoenix Award for the efforts that led to a second chance at life for Gehle. He and his family — his wife Samantha and children Camdyn, 9, Lainey, 7, and Marlie, 4 — were there and got to thank them, as well as the team at Crossroads and the hospital.

"I have two daughters that I need to walk down the aisle one day. I have a little boy I need to teach how to be a man and tie his tie for the first time," said Gehle. "I just can't put into words how thankful I am and how grateful I am for the service of these people."

Gehle said he hopes his story will encourage others to learn the signs of a heart attack and get help as soon as they suspect they're having one.

"Bodies don't have a check engine light like our cars do," he said. "You can feel good until it's not. So, at the simplest things that don't feel right, I would highly suggest getting to your local ER, getting it checked out."

Bryan said anyone can talk with their doctor about getting their cardiac risk assessed, and Ryan said following a healthy diet and exercise routine and not smoking can help prevent heart attacks altogether.