By Lineth Fernandez
Tim Irvin II, a colonel with the Broward Sheriff’s Office (BSO), doesn’t back down from a challenge, even when it’s literally his heart on the line.
Over the course of his more than 30-year career in law enforcement, the 51-year-old husband and father moved up the ranks to become BSO’s executive director of the department of detention and community programs.
No stranger to high levels of stress and physical exertion, Tim felt healthy and strong until he began noticing unusual fatigue playing basketball with his son.
Tim mentioned these symptoms to a doctor he saw for high cholesterol. While his blood work was good, further testing, including an echocardiogram and stress test, found something he didn’t expect. He had a heart attack sometime in the previous two years that he didn’t know about.
“An estimated 20% of heart attacks are classified as silent heart attacks,” said Kenneth H. Zelnick, M.D., an interventional cardiologist and cardiac rehabilitation medical director at Broward Health Medical Center who saw Tim after his surprising diagnosis.
“Though the symptoms may be mild and easy to miss, silent heart attacks can do as much damage as traditional heart attacks,” said Dr. Zelnick. “That’s why it’s so important to know your risk factors and to pay attention to your body.”
Symptoms of silent heart attacks can include fatigue, shortness of breath, mild chest discomfort, nausea, indigestion, lightheadedness or discomfort in the back or jaw. To further evaluate Tim’s heart, Dr. Zelnick performed a cardiac catheterization procedure.
“Cardiac catheterization is a minimally invasive procedure to identify conditions like blockages or valve issues,” said Dr. Zelnick. “Sometimes, depending on the location, severity and number of blockages found, patients can receive a stent, which is a mesh tube that opens a blocked artery, during this procedure.”
After the procedure, Tim learned that they had found blockages in three major coronary arteries that were so severe he needed a triple bypass and had to stay in the hospital until he could have surgery. Enter Alexander Justicz, M.D., a board-certified cardiothoracic surgeon with the Broward Health Physician Group.
“Given the number and severity of Tim’s blockages, he needed a triple bypass surgery,” said Dr. Justicz. “This is an open-heart surgery in which we use healthy blood vessels from other parts of the body to bypass the blocked coronary arteries.”
Bypass surgery, also known as coronary artery bypass graft (CABG), is the most common major heart procedure performed in the U.S., according to the American Heart Association.
After Tim was admitted to the hospital, Dr. Justicz and his team walked him and his family through the surgery and what to expect.
“He was absolutely very, very informative,” Tim said. “He sat down with us, answered all my questions and didn’t rush us. He spent time with us and made us feel as comfortable as possible going through this kind of process.”
The surgery, which took place in September 2025, was a success, and Tim stayed in the hospital for eight days.
After approximately five weeks of recovery, Tim threw himself into his cardiac rehabilitation program, which included 36 sessions at Broward Health Medical Center.
“The people in the cardiac rehab program are great people and their support was priceless,” said Tim.
In late October, Tim returned to work in a light duty capacity. And in May 2026, he took part in the Broward Health Foundation’s annual spin-a-thon that raises money for the health system’s cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation programs.
Today, Tim wants to take care of himself and to be a good example for his family, friends and colleagues. He met the challenge head on and says the experience helped him realize what’s important and what’s not in life.
“It really put things in perspective for me, that I need to not only enjoy this life but make sure I do what I can do to help the people around me,” said Tim. “Hence the reason I’m sharing my story.”
