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In 2016, Bill Miller finally went to the doctor to find out what was causing his dry and annoying cough. Tests indicated he had a heart attack in the past and was now in heart failure.

Although doctors later implanted a defibrillator to restore a normal heart rhythm if needed, Miller quickly became used to the device under his skin. Eventually, he'd all but forgotten about it.

Three years later, while at a dinner with colleagues on a business trip to Chicago, the defibrillator reminded him it was there – by going off 22 times.

"The first time, I fell out of my chair," said Miller, who lives in Pearl River, New York. "My friends rushed to the restaurant manager and asked him to call 911. It was very painful. I remember screaming for someone to turn it off."

In the closest emergency room, doctors stabilized him. His wife, Una, received a call before dawn that Bill was unresponsive. She caught the next flight, leaving the couple's teenage daughter with her parents, who lived next door.

By the time Una got to Bill's room, he was awake.

"Neither of us could believe this was happening," she said.

After six days and numerous tests – none of which definitively showed why he'd gone into cardiac arrest – Bill was cleared to go home.

"I left the hospital with a lot of medicine and a wake-up call," he said.

Determined to do what he should have done three years earlier, Bill began cleaning up his lifestyle. "We ate a lot of cauliflower and chicken," joked Una. He also cut back on alcohol and began walking more. Not only did Bill feel better, he dropped about 80 pounds.

Still, he admits, "I was shaken."

"Every day, I was afraid I was going to drop," he said. "I couldn't go to sleep; I was afraid what happened would happen again."

His doctor diagnosed him with anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder. Bill sought help through his company's employee assistance program. Doing so wasn't in his wheelhouse; he works in management at a corporate and investment bank and deals in numbers, not feelings.

For a year and a half, he met virtually with his counselor, whom he credits, along with his family – including their beloved dog, Shea, whom he walks every night – for helping him overcome feelings he couldn't shake on his own.

"I'm sure a lot of people don't do anything about the depression," said Una, his wife of 27 years. "What happened was the epitome of a wake-up call. I didn't realize it was weighing so much on his mind."

She's proud of him for seeking help, and for doing so much to get healthier. Because Bill's healing began around the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the family spent a lot of time together. That helped his stress level and made them even closer, he said.

But in April 2023, Bill went into cardiac arrest at work. His defibrillator went off again – just once this time – and he was taken to the hospital. Doctors performed a procedure involving the sympathetic nerves in his chest to reduce the incidence of irregular heartbeats, known as arrhythmias. Almost two years later, his defibrillator hasn't gone off again.

"My heart failure isn't going away," Bill said, "nor is the potential for irregular heartbeats. But the defibrillator decreases the risk, plus I make sure I have a good spirit. I try to be positive, and I seek help when I need it."

Now 61, he makes a point to learn something new every day. Every night before he goes to bed, he watches an episode or two of a sitcom like "Seinfeld" or "Curb Your Enthusiasm."

"I know how anxiety affects my body, and laughing really helps me sleep and helps my mood," he said. "I go outdoors as much as possible."

Bill encourages others to check out seemingly innocuous symptoms, like his annoying cough that wouldn't go away. He knows CPR and is on a committee at work to raise money for fundraisers such as the ·¬ÇÑÊÓƵ's Heart Walk. Life is good, and he is grateful.

"I saw my cardiologist a couple of weeks ago and he said I never looked better," Bill said. "I've had bumps along the road, but I'm in a good spot now."

Stories From the Heart chronicles the inspiring journeys of heart disease and stroke survivors, caregivers and advocates.