When Fort Thomas resident Kyle Rust went in for a routine physical in 2021, he expected a clean bill of health. Instead, the then-22-year-old learned he needed open-heart surgery.
Four years later, he’s turning that second chance into a mission to save young lives through heart health advocacy, fundraising and his goal of running 2,000 miles this year.
At the end of 2021, Rust visited his family physician for what he thought was a routine physical. At that appointment, his doctor ended up hearing a murmur in his heart. Being overly cautious, Rust said his doctor scheduled him for an echocardiogram (which allows doctors to evaluate the heart’s size, pumping strength, and the condition of its valves and chambers.)
“I later found out the normal protocol for something like that is to normally say, let’s monitor it for three to six months, and I’ll see you back, which I said I later found out I wouldn’t have made it three to six months to that next follow-up visit,” Rust said.
The echo found that Rust had severe mitral valve regurgitation. According to the Mayo Clinic, it is a condition in which the heart’s mitral valve leaks heavily, allowing blood to flow backward. The condition forces the heart to work harder, eventually leading to complications like heart failure if left untreated.
The cardiologist said Rust’s only option was open-heart surgery to fix the mitral valve.
“I was 22 years old. I was kind of in shell shock at that moment,” he said.
Within six days, Rust was undergoing open-heart surgery.
“The surgeon told me that when they were in there fixing it that I probably had weeks, maybe a month, before my heart gave out and I would have collapsed in the gym at work or something like that,” Rust said.
Prior to his surgery, Rust grew up as an athlete and later preferred working out in the gym, lifting weights. Post-surgery, he thought to himself, “What’s the best way to physically work the heart muscle?”
Running started as a way to rehabilitate Rust’s heart, but it also turned into an outlet to help him during struggles with his mental health.
Through hours of therapy, Rust said he learned he had what is called a near-death experience while undergoing surgery.
“I was on the other side; I was in heaven with my two deceased grandparents in their living room, sitting with them,” Rust said. “Then I had another vision where I was with a godly figure, if you will, kind of showing me a vision where we were on a mountaintop. Between the near-death experience and the heart surgery, being so young and then having this guilty conscience of wanting to stay in heaven with my two grandparents. All that culminated into me dealing with a lot of mental health struggles.”
Rust said he then turned to alcohol as a way to escape.
That led him to an altercation that put him in the hospital with a traumatic brain injury. Rust said that was a turning point for him.
He is now over one year sober.
“So it [running] went from strictly rehabilitation and a way to exercise my heart to now, a way to kind of reflect, to learn more about myself, and also kind of show to other heart survivors or other trauma victims that it’s still possible to do these things that maybe you think you can’t or that you don’t think you ever will be able to do.”
Now 26, Rust is four years out from surgery with a mission, “Heart & Hound: Run To Save.” It exists to advocate for heart health among young individuals, educate young people, young athletes, and families about the importance of awareness, and ultimately fund heart screenings for young athletes aged 12-22 through the MCORE Foundation. The foundation provides education, screenings and enables research for sudden cardiac arrest in children and young adults.
“Kyle is an amazing example of how a personal experience can be used to help educate others,” said MCORE Foundation Executive Director/CEO Lisa Tennenbaum. “Prevention is the key in his story and in many others. Through screenings and early detection, we can save lives.”
Rust ran the Flying Pig Marathon in early May, but it wasn’t his first. He ran his first Pig roughly one year after heart surgery.
“One year out from surgery, I ended up running it, but that time I was strictly focused on just finishing it,” Rust said. “It really ended up just being something as a goal to train for, to keep me motivated. This time it was more about pushing the mission of advocating for heart health, specifically youth heart health, advocating for preventative heart screenings and proactive health care.”
Rust started his Heart & Hound mission in January. According to Michiganmedicine.org, “About 2,000 young, seemingly healthy people under age 25 in the United States die each year of sudden cardiac arrest, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.”
After hearing that statistic, Rust set a goal to run 2,000 miles in 2026 in honor of the 2,000 lives lost every year. As of the end of May, Rust is ahead of schedule at 1,220 miles on the year.
The “hound” part of the mission comes from Rust’s two dogs that run every mile with him, including the Flying Pig. He adopted one of them days before his open heart surgery, and got the other one in the midst of his mental health struggle. He said his dogs are there for him every day, never letting him give up.
Aside from the running aspect of the mission, Rust has advocated for legislative change with the American Heart Association. He went to Frankfort for their lobbying day to talk to legislators about changing Kentucky legislation to push for heart screenings in youth physical exams.
American Heart Association Kentucky Government Relations Director Jon Dye said that advocating with Rust has been a privilege, and he continues to be grateful for the opportunity to work with him as one of the American Heart Association’s key volunteers.
“Kyle brings a unique combination of personal experience, professionalism and passion to every conversation,” Dye said. “Through his engagement with Kentucky legislators, he has already helped elevate the importance of initiatives like funding for CPR in Schools and the Cardiac Arrest Registry to Enhance Survival, playing a meaningful role in advancing conversations around these critical appropriation priorities.”
As an educator, he has an incredible ability to connect with policymakers and communicate why this work matters for students and communities across the Commonwealth. His willingness to share his story, advocate for change, and remain deeply engaged makes him not only an outstanding volunteer but an invaluable partner in advancing our mission.”
Rust is also working to fund heart screenings through the MCORE Foundation and to plan a youth heart screening event in Fort Thomas for June.
“It’s bigger than that [Flying Pig] race,” Rust said. “The sense of commitment to something bigger than myself is really what it came down to. During the training, all the thoughts of the families who lose their children every year, all that came flooding back. I wore my Heart and Hound t-shirt and heard people yell out, ‘Go Heart & Hound.’ Seeing our mission and saying it, it was like, ‘we’re starting something.’ It was a very emotional experience, for sure.”
