{"meta":{"status":200,"messages":[],"pagination":{"max":1,"offset":0,"count":1,"total":1,"pageNum":1,"totalPages":1,"sort":null,"currentUrl":"https://api.digitalmedia.hhs.gov/api/v2/resources/media.json?offset=0&max=1&ignoreHiddenMedia=1&format=json&id=2949&newUrlBase=http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/campaign/tips/stories","nextUrl":null,"previousUrl":null}},"results":[{"content":"
\n\u201cI was given a second chance to live,\u201d says Mariano, who is Hispanic and lives in Illinois. He started smoking at 15. In 2004, Mariano woke up one morning feeling sick and dizzy. He was sweating a lot. He went to the doctor, who told him his blood pressure was extremely high. He was hospitalized that day. Three days later, he had open heart surgery to replace blocked blood vessels in his heart. \u201cI smoked my last cigarette the day I was told I needed heart surgery.\u201d He hasn\u2019t smoked since.
\nAfter his hospitalization, Mariano, who loves to cook, noticed that food tasted better and that he had more energy. \u201cI had a wake-up call, and now I feel good.\u201d He plans to keep it that way.
\nPersons with disabilities experiencing problems accessing these videos should contact CDC-INFO at CDC-INFO email form: https://www.cdc.gov/info, 800-232-4636 or the TTY number at (888) 232-6348 and ask for a 508 Accommodation PR#9342. If emailing please type \u201c508 Accommodation PR#9342\u201d without quotes in the subject line of the email. Please include the URL of the site in the Subject line of your email request that you would like to access.
\nView more Tips videos sorted by name, disease and specific groups
\n \n\u201cI was given a second chance to live,\u201d says Mariano, who is Hispanic and lives in Illinois. He started smoking at 15, and at the age of 47, Mariano woke up feeling dizzy and sick. He also started sweating a lot. Mariano went to his doctor, who told him that he was on the verge of having a heart attack. \u201cHe told me, \u2018You have a very big problem with your arteries. Your blood pressure is very high,\u2019\u201d says Mariano. He was hospitalized that day. Three days later, he had open heart surgery to replace blocked blood vessels in his heart. \u201cI got lucky,\u201d he says. \u201cI smoked my last cigarette when I got the notice about the surgery. I should have quit smoking years ago and probably could have avoided all these problems.\u201d He hasn\u2019t smoked since.
\nMariano started smoking when he was 15 years old because a girl asked him for a cigarette, and he wanted to impress her. His family didn\u2019t know he smoked until he was 18 years old. Eventually, he was smoking two packs a day. Mariano says he didn\u2019t realize the damage cigarette smoking was having on his health year after year until he faced open heart surgery. \u201cI knew then that big problems were caused from smoking cigarettes.\u201d
\n\u201cThe open-heart surgery I had in 2004 was brutal,\u201d he recalls. \u201cEspecially when I think that if I had quit smoking years ago, I could have avoided all these problems.\u201d Even though his recovery from the surgery was painful, Mariano realized how lucky he was not to have a heart attack that day\u2014and that he didn\u2019t die. He is grateful for having been given a second chance at life.
\n\u201cAfter the surgery, the doctor told me the sooner I walked, the better.\u201d So, Mariano walked the floor of the hospital. When he went home, he started walking around the house, then eventually around the block. A month later, he was walking 10 blocks. Without cigarettes, Mariano found he had more energy. \u201cWhen I smoked, I couldn\u2019t walk 4 blocks. Now I can walk 5 miles without a problem!\u201d Along with having more energy, Mariano, who loves to cook, noticed that food tastes better now that he doesn\u2019t smoke.
\n\u201cEverything is different now,\u201d he says. Following the surgery and after he quit smoking, Mariano decided to live his life in a different way. He now takes more time to enjoy family and friends, including his young child. He was able to go back to work and now he only accepts jobs in smoke-free environments. \u201cI see the consequences of smoking and secondhand smoke,\u201d he says. Mariano says he is paying the price for smoking. He constantly has to monitor his health and will have to take medications the rest of his life.
\nMariano lifts up his shirt and points to the long scar on his chest that reminds him of his close call and says, \u201cWhen I see someone who smokes, I say, \u2018Look at this scar. Do you want to have this? Sooner or later, the time will come when you will likely have something like this.\u2019 I had a wake-up call, and now I feel good.\u201d Mariano is determined to keep it that way. He quit smoking and never looked back.
\n