Hunting small game like rabbit and quail and bringing in larger hauls of turkey and deer are important memories and adventures for contractor Cleo Seay, 62, of Flint, Mich. 
The desire to be in nature and enjoy the primal rush of the hunt didn’t change after a heart attack in 2006.
“Hunting season is the one time of year I get to see some of my friends,” says Seay. “We’ll eat, lie, hunt, fish. To be honest if we really wanted to kill a deer, we wouldn’t go in such a big group. Hunting deer is a quiet thing.”
Rather than a tent, he spends nights under the stars in his cork-floored Airstream, but it feels just as good to get away from it all with a dozen close friends on private land in Benton Harbor, Mich. Before loading up his gear we asked Cleo to talk about his journey with heart disease.
What does hunting mean to you?
It’s good for the soul. It’s nice to be out in the woods with nature and friends.
When was your heart attack and how did you know something was wrong?
My heart attack was in May 2006. I was out of town and had what felt like indigestion. I made the 4-hour drive back from Indiana. It wasn’t until I got home that I went to the hospital and was told I’d had a heart attack.I used to smoke and high blood pressure runs in my family. I was remarkably lucky.
How do you manage heart disease today?
With meds and common sense. I eat better, stress less and have good doctors here and at the University of Michigan who’ve gotten my blood pressure down to where it should be.
Take the next step:
- Follow all the posts in the Heart of a Hunter series on the CVCHeartBeat Blog.
- Oct. 25 is the last day to Enter here to win one of three giveaways, including a $50 Cabela’s card!
The University of Michigan Samuel and Jean Frankel Cardivascular Center is the top-ranked heart and heart surgery program among Michigan hospitals. To learn more, visit our website at www.umcvc.org.
