b'I Won the Health Care Lottery With My Care Triathlon athlete has heart attack, then goes on vacation four days later.Im so thankful, says Bruce Horn of his surreal experience. Talking from an airport in Dallas, Texas, Horn recalls the heart attack he had only four days earlier in Burlington. The heart attack was shocking and unexpected. Horn doesnt have relatives who had heart disease and he doesnt smoke or have other risk factors usually associated with cardiac concerns. In fact, the 66-year-old participates in triathlons of varying distances.His love of the sport brought him to Burlington, to the Buckner Mission Man Triathlon. The Oklahoma resident was competing alongside daughter Maggie, who lives in Durham. They viewed it as a nice warm-up for a half Ironman in Wilmington that they planned to complete in October.The first leg on the cool Saturday morning was a 750-meter swim in Lake Cammack. But shortly after hitting the water, Horn was struggling. Lifeguard Courtney Carter-Graves, one of the three in the lake, watched as Horn made his final turn, started floating on his back and then went under. She got to him in seconds, placing a flotation belt under Horn to keep him above water. A team on a rescue boat pulled him in and immediately began CPR. I am talking today because they were prepared, Horn says of the water rescue. The race organizers had the foresight to have highly trained lifesaving personnel and emergency equipment immediately available. That saved my life. Minutes later, Horn was in an ambulance heading to Alamance Regional Medical Center. When he arrived, a team of specialists was waiting in what is called the cath lab. They are part of a program that recently brought around-the-clock heart attack care to Alamance Regional. Several of our cardiologists stay in a local hotel in Burlington while on call to be close to the hospital for emergency cases, says Christopher McAlhany, MD, who treated Horn. Our goal is to have the blocked artery open as fast as possible. The longer the blood flow is restricted, the more heart muscle dies. That reduces the chances for a full recovery and a return to normal life.2728'