Lifestyle Health Bob Harper Reveals the Condition that Led to His Near-Fatal Heart Attack: 'I Dropped Dead, I Really Did' Bob Harper talks about learning that has Lipoprotein(a), which caused his near-fatal heart attack, on The Dr. Oz Show By Julie Mazziotta Julie Mazziotta Twitter Julie Mazziotta is the Sports Editor at PEOPLE, covering everything from the NFL to tennis to Simone Biles and Tom Brady. She was previously an Associate Editor for the Health vertical for six years, and prior to joining PEOPLE worked at Health Magazine. When not covering professional athletes, Julie spends her time as a (very) amateur athlete, training for marathons, long bike trips and hikes. People Editorial Guidelines Published on April 24, 2017 04:49 PM Share Tweet Pin Email Bob Harper now knows what led to his near-fatal heart attack on Feb. 12: He has high levels of a particle in his blood called Lipoprotein(a), which is a hereditary condition. The Biggest Loser host and trainer carries large amounts of the particle — which contains cholesterol, fats and proteins, which puts him at a higher risk for heart attack, regardless of his exercise habits. Harper says that at first, his doctors thought he just had a blockage, until he got a second opinion from someone who confirmed that he has Lipoprotein(a). Once he found out the cause of his heart attack, he immediately called Dr. Mehmet Oz. “I had texted you and almost immediately my phone rings and he is so excited like someone won the lottery,” Harper tells Dr. Oz’s audience on Monday’s episode of The Dr. Oz Show. “He was just like this is great. And I was like, ‘This is great news?’ [He said] ‘Yes, because now you know what’s going on with you and now we know what to do.’ ” Sony Pictures Television While Harper feels better now that he is informed about his condition, the fitness guru says that he’s unsure about his heart. “I think about the fact that my heart stopped. My heart gave up on me and going through this process of trusting it again and building the relationship again with me and my heart,” he says. The months since the attack have been tough to handle. “I dropped dead — I really did,” Harper says. “I have my ups and downs. I’ve been super emotional throughout this process, like you had asked me about trusting my heart again and having fitness being taken away from me that’s been a big challenge.” But he also sees it as a blessing. “It’s like God has told me to just kind of slow down right now and that’s what I’m doing. Now I embrace it. I get up every day and I’m super lucky; I walk the streets and I got to tell you, New York has been great for my recovery.”