NJ man shares warning after suffering heart attack while shoveling snow: 'He was dead"

NEW JERSEY - A man in New Jersey is alive today thanks in large part to the quick actions of five police officers.

For Mike Szanka, the story begins on the afternoon of February 13. Eight inches of heavy, wet snow had fallen in Mahwah in northern Bergen County. Szanka and his wife, Agnes, decided to wait for the snow to end before going out to clear it. 

"He did the whole driveway with the blower," Agnes said. "I was shoveling the steps here and on the side. Then we moved to the back."

The next thing she knew, Agnes saw Mike, her husband of 20 years, unresponsive on the ground. She called 911.

Five Mahwah police officers happened to be nearby and rushed to the home. While the officers were on their way, Agnes attempted CPR on Mike, to no avail. Once they arrived, the officers -- Det. Tim Letavish, Officer Brian Doolittle, Lt. Keith Iorio, Officer Robert Birney and Sgt. Chris Monico -- took over. The situation was dire.

"He was dead," Iorio said.

The officers cleared a path in the snow for the arriving paramedics. When the officers hooked up a defibrillator and shocked him, Mike's heart responded. He was rushed to Valley Hospital where he underwent quadruple bypass surgery. 

Szanka had heart issues in the past as well.

Mike's story is a cautionary tale for those who go shoveling show after storms.

"Do it slowly," Agnes warned. "And don't push yourself too hard. Don't do it alone."

Mike is now home from the hospital and recovering. His grateful wife is caring for him. She says she wouldn't know what to say to the first responders who saved him.

"I'm going to be grateful for the rest of my life," Agnes said.

The five officers are reluctant heroes, saying they were just doing their jobs.

"This is definitely one of the finer moments," Letavish said. "It's not always a happy ending."