Hussman associate professor blogs about triple bypass

On the last day of 2025 spring classes, Carolina associate professor Gary Kayye walked more slowly than usual up the Carroll Hall stairs. His doctors had told him he must keep his heart rate below 100 beats per minute.

For the first time in his 16 years at the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media, Kayye taught class sitting down. He did his best to act normal for his advertising students, but throughout the 2.5-hour class, Kayye kept thinking about what doctors had just told him:

He needed heart surgery — a triple coronary artery bypass.

“No student had any clue,” Kayye said. “When I finally sent them an email telling them what happened, they were shocked.”

Kayye was shocked, too. The diagnosis came only a few weeks after Kayye — an avid runner and triathlete — finished a 10-miler at Disney World in Orlando. He ran more slowly than usual, yet he was drenched in sweat and oppressed by heartburn.

Those symptoms concerned Kayye, but the father of two never imagined his life was in danger, especially given his fervent commitment to fitness and healthy eating. But a round of cardiological tests at UNC Hospitals revealed severe blockages in three arteries.

“I was a walking heart attack,” Kayye said. “The cardiologist said that I would have died within seven to 10 days. I had more than 98% blockage, and it would have only been a matter of where I was when I had a heart attack. If I had been in the grocery store or driving my car, I would’ve died.”

A couple of days after he taught his final spring class, Kayye had the six-hour procedure at UNC Hospitals, with doctors taking veins from his legs to repurpose as arteries. Given his age and high level of fitness, Kayye has a strong prognosis.

Spreading the word

Two weeks after his surgery, on May 22, his 59th birthday, Kayye wrote a blog post about his experience, “How Disney World Helped Save My Life.”

At first, Kayye wasn’t sure he wanted to share his story. But as someone who has worked in branding and marketing for 25 years, he saw benefits to getting the word out.

“I was kind of embarrassed — because I thought this was something that only happens to old people,” Kayye said. “But I decided to take the opposite approach and blast it out there. Let’s remove that stigma. Let’s pay attention to these weird, nuanced signals in our bodies.”

After posting the piece, Kayye received an outpouring of support from colleagues, industry peers and former students. But even more importantly, he heard from a dozen or so people who consulted with their own doctors and underwent similar testing after reading about Kayye’s shocking diagnosis.

Recovery from the surgery has been slow but positive. Just seven weeks after the procedure, in late June, doctors gave Kayye the go-ahead to resume some of his fitness habits, like light running and swimming in a pool.

“The moment I got in the pool for the first time, I could feel myself crying inside the goggles,” Kayye said. “I was so overwhelmed with emotion.”

Kayye has only the highest praise for UNC Hospitals, calling it “a gift to the people of North Carolina.” He’s especially thankful for his ICU nurse, who kindly and empathetically guided him through the intense pain following his surgery.

Much like the last day of class in the spring, Kayye expects his first class this August to be an emotional experience — but for much happier reasons.

“I’m here for the love of teaching. I love seeing them learn and seeing them experience something new,” he said. “Knowing that I’m going to make it back to the first day of class is just overwhelmingly exciting.”