BOZEMAN, Mont. -

February is Heart Awareness Month. Doctors tell NBC Montana heart disease is the leading cause of death in men and women.

We caught up with Jim Kase, who recently survived a major heart attack.

"[The doctor] brought my wife and kids back because he didn't think I was going to make it," said Kase.  "My wife told me my heart  stopped three different times."

Doctors had to shock Kase's body 11 times and it took bringing his body to freezing temperatures to save his life. "Luckily for me, the doctor showed up and asked my wife and kids what they wanted to do. They said, 'You have to try,'" Kase explained.

Kase said his heart attack started the night before and at the time he didn't even know it was happening. "I was having pain in my arm and had it earlier and I thought it was a pulled muscle," he said.

NBC Montana went to Bozeman Deaconess Hospital and talked with cardiologist Blair Erb. Erb explained symptoms of a heart attack. "They tend to radiate, it may go up into the throat, jaws, into the shoulders or arms, either arm. It's not just one."

According to the Centers for Disease Control heart disease accounts for one in four deaths in the United States every year. Erb explained that a heart attack is caused when the blood supply to the heart is interrupted.

"It's not just taking pills -- a lot of the ills we bring upon ourselves have to do with lifestyle," said Erb.

To try to prevent heart disease, Erb said some ways to modify your lifestyle include exercising more, eating healthier, and cutting back on smoking if you're a smoker. He said if you have pains in your head, neck and shoulders to take them seriously.