20 People at Ottumwa Regional Hospital celebrated their fight against the leading cause of death in America

OTTUMWA, Iowa (KYOU) -

Wednesday, twenty people walked across the room where they exercise to benefit their heart health.

Bob Alig was joking with the nurses and proud to say he completed his 36 weeks of treatment.

He said he thought he’d never get here. “My first day I failed the walk test which means my oxygen in my blood was not very good and I failed it poorly *laughs*,” Alig proclaimed.

While failing your test on the first day may be discouraging... Respiratory Therapist, Dena Evans, says patients overcome that discouragement by supporting one another.

Evans said with a smile, “Our patients really bond, and it becomes more of a support group. As you can tell with the way they’re visiting. Yeah, everyone really becomes family."

The American Heart Association Reports in 2019, one in five Americans died from heart disease. That amounts to almost seven hundred thousand people.

Evans says it can affect a wide array of people. “Patients right now currently range from 46 to 93 years old,” said Evans.

Someone on the younger end of that spectrum... John-Mark Henry said he was experiencing chest pain after simple exercise due to a 99% blockage in his heart.

He attributes that to his mostly sedentary lifestyle.

“A number of things just compounded through the years. Me not getting enough exercise. me not eating as healthily as I could’ve been,” said Henry.

Finally, Alig says it was difficult for him to take those steps to the car to get to the rehab center.

But he got over that to be there for his family and his rehab family.

Alig said with a serious tone, “You want to live a long time? You’re not going to do it on the couch."

Read the full story and watch the video coverage at KYOU.