Dave, David and Dale Newman are a close bunch. The father and his grown sons live a few blocks from each other in Mountlake Terrace. They share a name, a family history and something ominous — heart disease.
Survivors all, they are pictured on billboards around Snohomish County promoting the American Heart Walk. The fund-raiser for the American Heart Association starts at 9 a.m. Saturday at Everett Community College.
The Newmans will step out together on the three-mile route, celebrating their ability to do so.
Dave Newman was 51 when he had two heart attacks within six weeks in 1994. Now 60, he’s had angioplasty twice. In 2002, he also suffered a mild stroke.
He takes medication to lower cholesterol and to lower his blood pressure, watches his diet, and faithfully spends a half-hour every night on a treadmill.
"I have cut out the red meat and eat more vegetables. We’ve all tried to make lifestyle changes," he said. "You have to if you want to continue to see the grass from the right side."
His son Dale Newman, 33, had no idea he had a rare heart condition, LGL syndrome, until he literally had a heart-stopping experience.
"I was in the Marine Corps in 1989, in jump school at Fort Benning, Ga. I jumped out of an airplane and my heart stopped," he said. "I was on a static line, it pulls the chute for you. When I landed I was unconscious."
He broke wrists and an ankle, and was diagnosed with the heart condition at the naval hospital in Bethesda, Md. There, he had heart surgery using a catheter and electrical impulses.
"Electrical impulses through the heart have one pathway. I had multiple pathways," he said, describing the syndrome.
In 1995, he blacked out while working as a corrections officer at the Snohomish County Jail. That was followed by a repeat surgery at Providence Everett Medical Center.
Off medication now, Dale Newman is aware of his risk for more common forms of heart disease. Last year, his older brother had a heart attack at just 38.
"It was very terrifying," he said of David Newman’s health crisis. "Luckily, he recognized the symptoms right away."
David Newman was treated at Stevens Hospital in Edmonds and has had three angioplasty procedures.
Unlike his father and brother, David Newman was a smoker. "He hasn’t smoked a cigarette since his heart attack," said Dale Newman, who owns The Massage Clinic in Everett with his wife, Kim.
Dale Newman, too, has changed habits and is working to shed extra pounds. "I do a lot of walking. I run laps in a swimming pool. We bought a treadmill. And I keep an eye on blood pressure and cholesterol," he said.
With a goal of $175,000, the American Heart Walk pushes heart-healthy habits and also contributes to cutting-edge research.
Cardiac nurse Teresa Rose sees the results of medical advancements every day.
"We have a group of about 20 walkers, about half of them have implanted defibrillators," said Rose, who works with her husband, Dr. Jeffrey Rose, an Everett cardiologist.
"It’s fun to see the evolution of heart care. These people have survived cardiac arrest, and they’re out walking three miles," she said.
In cardiac electrophysiology work, she sees a wide array of patients.
"Some are in their 20s and have had a cardiac arrest, some are 75 and have had a couple of heart attacks," Rose said. "A lot of people don’t understand the difference between a heart attack and cardiac arrest."
A heart attack, or myocardial infarction, is related to what Rose calls "plumbing problems."
"A cardiac arrest is electrical chaos within the heart. People think if they take care of cholesterol, they’re heart-healthy. But there can be electrical problems. Or there’s congestive heart failure, when the heart is not pumping strongly," she said. "A lot of things can happen to the heart."
No kidding, a lot of things can happen. Ask the Newman family. Ask my three fatherless children, whose dad died of heart disease in 1998.
"It’s really important to educate the population about identifying symptoms," Rose said.
Dale Newman knows how important. His wife is expecting their first child — "a little boy" — in November.
"I pay close attention," he said. "I’ve got a kid to raise now."
Columnist Julie Muhlstein: 425-339-3460 or
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