He looked fit, ate well, exercised, and had a calcium score of zero six months earlier. Then, at 34, Dr. Stephen Hussey had a widowmaker heart attack.

Diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at age nine, Dr. Hussey, a doctor of chiropractic with a master's in functional medicine and author of Understanding the Heart, spent his adult life trying to do everything right. In this episode, pediatric ER physician Dr. David Spiro talks with him about the heart attack he suffered alone during COVID, the frustration of feeling unheard in the hospital and being labeled noncompliant, his decision to depart from the standard medication plan, and the stress he believes set the stage for it all. David also presses him on the hard question: how can he know what actually drove his recovery? The episode ends with what nearly dying at 34 changed about his life and purpose.

CHAPTERS

0:00 "I had a widowmaker heart attack at 34"

0:16 Meet Dr. Stephen Hussey

1:39 Asthma, allergies and type 1 diabetes at age nine

2:53 "I felt like a pincushion" and the nurse with the magic kit

4:19 Giving bad news to children and families

7:25 From patient to health practitioner

9:17 What "avoiding toxins" means to him

10:33 Sauna, sweat and microplastics

14:13 A heart attack despite a zero calcium score

17:53 What a widowmaker heart attack felt like

21:28 Alone in the hospital during COVID

23:30 Labeled "noncompliant"

25:23 Why he declined the standard medications

27:00 A new blockage in his leg

29:04 Light, sauna and circadian rhythm

33:58 Semmelweis and challenging medical dogma

35:17 How does he know what worked?

37:43 Stress and the nervous system

41:38 The 36 hours before the heart attack

43:28 Heart attacks without blocked arteries

45:44 "Stay in your lane": answering his critics

47:55 Heart disease, obesity and insulin resistance

51:43 What nearly dying at 34 changed

54:44 Closing

Watch the full video on YouTube: HuMed with David Spiro, MD

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HuMed unveils the human side of medicine through real stories from clinicians. Guests share their personal experiences and views, which are their own. This episode is for storytelling and education, not medical advice. Talk with your own doctor before changing any treatment.