June was Men's Health Month. Did you see your doctor? A Sacramento man wished he would have sooner after experiencing a life-changing scare."To imagine that something like this could happen to someone like me, it's mind-boggling," said Rafael Ramirez, 55.Two years ago, Ramirez thought he was in great shape. He played soccer regularly and ran every day. His life was about to take a terrifying turn. "I was upstairs just kind of relaxing and I noticed I had a really bad headache and so I got my blood pressure cuff and I checked my blood pressure and it was 190 over 110," Ramirez said. It's a reading that was dangerously high. He quickly went in to see his doctor, who insisted on an immediate angiogram, a camera view of the interior of his coronary arteries. He got bad news during the procedure. "And as he goes around my heart, he goes, 'Oh my goodness!' I was like, 'What happened?'" Ramirez recalled. "He says, 'You see this little black thing? That's your artery. You have a 90% blockage.'" Moments later, the doctor found a second 90% blockage. He inserted two stents to keep the arteries open. The procedure had gone from routine to life or death. "As they're pulling everything out, they're decreasing the pressure inside my heart, and my heart stops beating. They give me CPR for two minutes," he said. The doctor revived him, and his heart began to beat again. That initial sky-high blood pressure reading may have saved his life. "It's called a silent killer for a good reason," Kaiser Permanente cardiologist Dr. Howard Dinh said. "I think this is where it plays into that lull that young men may have. Ain't nothing wrong with me. And then on top of that, when you're not aware of things, there is no chance to take corrective measures ahead of time." It's a pattern that Dinh sees time and again. Ramirez fits the mold. He was active and didn't think he needed to stay on top of his health. "For guys that are my age, your early 50s, 55 to 58, be sure to check yourselves," he now says. "It's really important that you are aware of what's happening in your body. Most of my friends will never go to a doctor unless they feel something." These days, Ramirez makes sure he checks his blood pressure daily. He visits his doctor routinely. His goal is to get to where he was before the scare. So far, he's doing well and thankful he got a second chance.See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter