David Schulsinger, a doctor from Nassau County who lives in Laurel Hollow, started his 26th marathon at 9:10 a.m. on Sunday, running the New York City Marathon after surviving a widow-maker heart attack that doctors had once told him would end his running career for good.
Schulsinger had a widow-maker heart attack and received a life-saving stent 81 minutes after it struck, according to News 12 Long Island. The outlet reports that doctors say a widow-maker heart attack carries a 92% mortality rate if it goes untreated within 90 minutes, meaning the window Schulsinger had to work with was razor thin. He was told, in the aftermath, that he would never run again.
The medical reality behind that warning is stark. A widow-maker heart attack happens when the heart's largest artery, the left anterior descending artery, becomes fully blocked, and immediate treatment is crucial for any chance at survival, according to Cleveland Clinic. The stent Schulsinger received works by holding the artery open so blood can keep flowing through it, the same source notes.
A Marathon Delayed, Then Finally Run
Before the heart attack, Schulsinger had been preparing for the 2024 New York City Marathon, which he had planned would be his 26th. That race never happened as scheduled for him. Instead, he spent years working his way back, and the station's report describes his return to marathon running as coming only after years of hard work.
On Sunday, that work paid off when he survived what the article calls a life-threatening medical ordeal and lined up anyway. The 2026 race sent runners off in waves between 8 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. along the 26.2-mile course, according to CBS News New York. A record 59,226 runners crossed the finish line the previous year, per New York Road Runners figures cited by the same outlet.
Not the Only Comeback Story on the Course
Schulsinger was not the only runner carrying a heart story into Sunday's race. A Manhattan runner, Laverne Johnson, was reported to be aiming to complete her 20th New York City Marathon at age 80 despite having faced heart rhythm issues, according to the New York Daily News. Elsewhere, a North Carolina woman who survived a widow-maker heart attack has returned to running four miles a day while raising her young sons, per WXII 12.
Details of how Schulsinger's race unfolded Sunday, including his finish time, were not available. What is documented is the arc of his recovery: a sudden blockage in his heart's biggest artery, a stent placed within 81 minutes, a prognosis that ruled out running, and a start line in New York City he reached anyway.
