The symptoms finally convinced Young to see a doctor, who diagnosed him with very high blood pressure, Type 2 diabetes, pneumonia and kidney disease. He was prescribed several medications and ordered to come back every week for monitoring.
That monitoring revealed Young had heart failure, a chronic, progressive condition in which the heart is unable to pump enough blood to meet the body’s needs. At the time of his diagnosis, Young’s heart was operating at only 30 percent of its function. He was prescribed additional medication, but didn’t process the seriousness of his condition.
Less than two months later, Young was admitted to the hospital, where doctors found his heart had dropped to 20 percent of its function.
“I’ll never forget when the cardiologist said to me, ‘James, if had you waited one more week, you would have been dead,’” he said.
The health crisis forced Young to quit smoking and overhaul his diet, eliminating sugary drinks, alcohol and fast food. He has made healthy swaps, replacing bacon or ham with kale sautéed in olive oil to serve with eggs for breakfast.
“As I began to get healthy, I didn’t have an appetite for fast food anymore,” he said.
By November 2011, he was strong enough to take short walks. Soon he moved to the local high school track, pushing his almost daily sessions longer, sometimes going twice a day, working himself up to as much as 11 miles.
“I realized I had done so much damage to myself that I had to introduce my body to a whole other way of living,” said Young, who is now 45. “The track became a substitute for the barstool, and I got support from others out there.”
Nearly 6 million Americans suffer from heart failure, and studies have shown that African-Americans have the highest risk for developing the condition. Young also has a family history of heart disease and diabetes.
“It was so common in my family that it seemed like part of life you couldn’t do anything about,” he said.
His father died from complications of congestive heart failure and Type 2 diabetes in 2014.