Cyclist reunites with hero who saved him after heart attack

Anthony Russo came to the rescue of Dino Rio during a race

MIAMI – Dino Rio, a trained triathlete, loves to break out his bike for long rides.

So when a 25 mile charity ride popped up nearly three weeks ago, Dino was all in, but he never finished the race.

He says he started feeling shortness of death and some pain in his chest.

Dino didn't realize he was having a heart attack at 44 years old.

"I kept resting and I guess my adrenaline started going down, and it just got worse and worse," he said.

Dino is alive today thanks to another cyclist: 71 year old Anthony Russo.

"He looked under stress and as soon as he said left arm pain and shortness of breath and chest pain, I knew those signs are what I look for myself-- I read about it some time ago probably in Men's Health," said Russo.

Russo's quick thinking calmed Dino and got the attention of a police officer, who called for an airlift from Key Largo to a hospital in Kendall.

Doctors say if it had happened 10 minutes later, Dino would have died.

"The heart attack I suffered is still shocking and very emotional as you can see but I'm trying to learn to cope with it," said Dino.

The two men were reunited Wednesday at an impromptu reunion at Mack Cycle in South Miami.

Miami-Dade Commissioner Jose Pepe Diaz honored Anthony with a heroic proclamation for saving Dino's life.

"This is a surprise, I didn't expect this. What I did is what I always do, ride around and help people, " said Anthony.

Doctors had to place emergency stents in Dino's chest, but they say he has very minimal damage to the heart and there's no reason he can't continue cycling.

 


About the Author:

Terrell Forney joined Local 10 News in October 2005 as a general assignment reporter. He was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, but a desire to escape the harsh winters of the north brought him to South Florida.