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In September, Bissey, 62, suffered an acute heart attack during a time when she thought she was the healthiest she had been in months.

She had retired about five earlier from a stressful job as a district manager for the Sally Foster gift wrap company for 27 years. And was working out three times a week with a personal trainer.

‘‘I said, ‘Wait a minute, this is not fair,’” Bissey said.

But, according to Friedman, a high level of stress can be a risk factor for heart disease.

The American Heart Association has designated February as American Heart Month, and hospitals and other health organizations are using the month to shed light on information about heart disease.

Friedman, director of cardiology at Shady Grove, said that while people cannot change certain predisposed risk factors, such as gender, age and family genetics, they can make changes, when things such as smoking are ‘‘100 percent reversible.”

Eating healthier, exercising regularly, controlling blood pressure and taking aspirin or staten (cholesterol-lowering) drugs can significantly lower the chance of developing heart disease, he said.

‘‘Hard work and conditioning and compulsive attention to daily nutrition and diet is equivalent to popping a pill,” Friedman said.

For 39-year-old Tom Savoiy of Rockville, his heart attack last spring led to a complete lifestyle change for him and his family.

Having a heart attack at a young age was an ‘‘eye-opener.”

‘‘I knew I had high cholesterol and high blood pressure, I just was not taking care of myself,” Savoiy said. ‘‘I was not on medication, not exercising regularly, and although I tried to tell myself I was eating right, I definitely wasn’t.”

For Bissey, who was standing at her kitchen sink that September morning when she realized she did not feel well, classic symptoms of a heart attack — chest pain, fatigue, shortness of breath, sweating or numbness in her left arm — were absent. She did feel pressure in her chest and soreness in her jaw. But she thought she might have the flu.

‘‘There was no giddy-up in my get-go,” Bissey said.

Friedman said many women experience different symptoms than men because they usually experience heart disease 10 years later than men and symptoms become less specific as people age. Women are also more fragile and anatomically smaller, therefore making heart disease harder to manage.

Breast cancer is played up as a significant cause of death in women, Friedman said, ‘‘but heart disease is more frequently the cause of death in women.”

Bissey’s husband called 911 and the emergency medical technicians identified that she was having a heart attack. There was 100 percent blockage in her right coronary artery and she was in surgery for an hour as Friedman and his surgical team removed the blockage.

Bissey and Savoiy both went through the 36-session recovery program with Shady Grove’s cardiac rehabilitation center, which includes classes on topics such as nutrition and stress management, in addition to heart-monitored workout sessions. Savoiy brought his wife and two daughters to the classes with him.

‘‘My daughter who’s 10 is wise beyond her years,” Savoiy said. ‘‘When I had my heart attack she knew she had to take care of herself. She looked at what she ate and started to eat healthier, too. Me having a heart attack puts her at higher risk.”

Savoiy now eats better, adding more fruits and vegetables in his diet in addition to leaner meats, and exercises regularly at a gym. He lost more than 30 pounds and trimmed four inches off his waist.

For Bissey, she continues to use the rehab center five days a week. And she will always remember what Friedman and his team did to help her get to this point.

‘‘If I ever see him in the hallway, I thank him for saving my life,” Bissey said.