Some startling news came out of Anaheim, California, on Nov. 13: John Warner, MD, the president of the American Heart Association (AHA), had suffered a heart attack at the AHA’s annual Scientific Sessions.

The AHA originally called the heart attack “minor” but a new article published by the organization paints a much direr scenario. Warner suffered a ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), which triggered ventricular fibrillation. His heart stopped beating for several minutes, according to the article.

But his daughter started cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) immediately and he quickly got high-quality CPR from cardiologists who were sharing the same hotel for the conference. An automated external defibrillator was located to shock his heart back into rhythm. Warner later received a stent to open a clogged artery—a procedure he has performed thousands of times on other patients.

If these steps weren’t carried out in a timely manner, Warner could easily be dead.

Warner, 52, is now back to work as the CEO of a hospital system and the president of the AHA. Even though he may have been considered at low risk of heart disease based on his age and other variables, he understands how lucky he was to be surrounded by experts when his episode occurred. There was never any sign of cardiovascular disease before the heart attack, although Warner’s father and grandfather required bypass surgery in their 60s.

“There’s this unknown of what more I could change,” Warner said. “But I remind myself that it wasn’t that long ago that we began to understand the role of cholesterol and high blood pressure in heart disease. There’s another breakthrough out there. Science will find it.”

Read the blow-by-blow account of Warner’s heart attack—and the bystanders’ lifesaving response to it—at the link below: