Lakeville fire chief 'incredibly grateful' after successful open heart surgery

LAKEVILLE -- Lakeville Fire Chief Michael O’Brien is sounding the alarm about a condition that is responsible for nearly half of on-duty firefighter deaths and seriously threatened his own life.

Coronary artery disease.

O’Brien’s condition was diagnosed in a most unlikely way.

The chief was treated by his colleagues after suffering a severe, life-threatening allergic reaction at home.

Ironically, that serious medical emergency may have indirectly saved his life.

Once the allergic reaction was under control, responding firefighters “identified findings that concerned them enough to recommend further evaluation,’’ O’Brien said.

Those findings triggered a series of tests and evaluations that ultimately revealed significant, life-threatening coronary artery disease, O’Brien reported.

The diagnosis was shocking and unexpected. “I had no chest pain,’’ he said. “No shortness of breath. No warning that I was walking around with serious coronary artery disease.’’

And yet he is far from the only firefighter facing such a serious diagnosis. Cardiovascular disease is one of the greatest health threats to the profession, he reported. 

According to the United States Fire Administration, sudden cardiac events remain the leading cause of firefighter line-of-duty deaths, accounting for nearly 45% of fatalities in recent years.

Firefighters face serious occupational risks, including extreme physical exertion, heat stress, smoke and particulate exposure, disrupted sleep, adrenaline surges, and repeated physical and emotional stress.

“We train for maydays, building collapse, hazardous materials, apparatus accidents, and countless other things that can kill us,’’ O’Brien said.

“We need to talk just as seriously about our hearts. I am living proof of why.’’

Don’t assume that "because you feel good, you’re good,'' O’Brien warned. “I went to the gym four times a week and I felt great. ‘’

But that didn’t spare him from a serious health challenge.

“If one firefighter reads this and makes an appointment, asks another question, or catches something before it becomes an emergency, then sharing something this personal will have been worth it,’’ he said.

O’Brien continues to recover and thanks the public for their support and the medical teams that treated him.

 "I still have a road ahead of me, ‘’ he said, but “I am incredibly grateful.’’