Thousands of cyclists took over the Gardiner Expressway and Don Valley Parkway on Sunday, as they raised a record $5.5 million and awareness for life-saving research into heart disease and stroke.

The money collected during the 26th annual Becel Heart & Stroke Ride for Heart will be used to fund the type of advancements that saved Mick O’Meara’s life.

O’Meara suffered a massive heart attack during his daily walk last December and he credits a defibrillator for saving his life. He credits his fitness level for a speedy recovery that allowed him to attend Sunday’s event.

“All the technology that saved my life didn’t exist when I was born,” said O’Meara, who participated in the charity cycling event for the 20th year. “The stints and the angioplasty and the defibrillators and so on didn’t exist.”

O’Meara, 72, said the heart attack was unexpected because he has good cholesterol numbers, keeps fit, eats healthy and is at a “reasonable” weight, and he suggested his experience is proof that heart disease can affect anyone.

Based on the personal stories and statistics shared during the event, heart disease and stroke affect almost everyone at some point in their lives.

That includes 28-year-old Matt Fleming, who underwent two open heart surgeries after being born with a closed heart valve that restricted blood flow from his heart to his lungs.

“Recently, thanks to the money that the Heart and Stroke Foundation has raised, I’ve had the valve replaced without open heart surgery,” Fleming told CP24 reporter Jackie Crandles before he hopped on his bike and joined the ride. “It was uninvasive and I was able to walk out of the hospital two days after.

“Without the Heart and Stroke Foundation I may not be here to speak with you right now,” Fleming added. “It’s just immensely important and I’m so thankful for every single person that’s out there riding their bike right now.”

Former NHLer Brett MacLean said he is alive today thanks to a group of people who have CPR and automatic external defibrillator (AED) training.

MacLean went into cardiac arrest during a pick-up hockey game in Owen Sound in the summer of 2012. After he collapsed, two men performed CPR and a third grabbed the arena’s AED to shock him back to life.

“There was nothing in my family and it was a big shock, especially being a professional athlete,” MacLean told CP24 at Sunday’s event. “I never saw any signs or indications that this could happen, so it was definitely a big shock to me and it just kind of shows you that it can happen to anyone at any time.”

Since his brush with death, MacLean has been forced to abandon his hockey career at the age of 23, but he has partnered with the Heart and Stroke Foundation to raise awareness and encourage people to learn CPR.

“I guess it’s kind of weird to say but I was in the right place at the right time,” MacLean said. “The quicker people act the better chance you have for survival and, obviously, with an AED available it makes a big difference. It just kind of shows you that knowing how to do CPR and knowing how to use an AED can go a long way.”

MacLean now has an implantable cardiac defibrillator (ICD) in his body to monitor his heart and provide an electrical shock if an abnormal rhythm is detected.

At Sunday's event, more than 13,000 cyclists pedalled 25, 50 or 75 kilometres in what is considered Canada’s largest charity cycling event.

To accommodate the crowd, the Gardiner was shut down between Carlaw Avenue and the Humber River, and the entire stretch of the DVP was closed.

Near the end of the event, organizers announced that they had reached their fundraising goal of $5.5 million, setting a new record for the event. Last year's ride raised $5 million in support of the Heart and Stroke Foundation.

The funds go towards heart disease and stroke research, and education programs.

“We simply couldn’t do what we do without the support of the people of Ontario,” said Tom McAllister, CEO of the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario.

McAllister said the fatality rate of heart disease and stroke has dropped by 75 per cent in the last 50 years, but they still kill almost one in three Canadians.

“We’ve come a long way but we still have a pretty long way to go,” McAllister said.

With files from CP24 reporter Jackie Crandles.

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