Hi there, I'm Genelle Weule stepping in this week for our health reporter Lauren Roberts.

If you've ever had to have surgery — or are close to someone who has — you know how stressful going under the knife can be.

But just imagine you are about to undergo a relatively new procedure. 

And that procedure will involve stopping your heart while blood vessels are grafted onto your arteries.

That's what happened to John Ross in 1975.

Forty years later, at the age of 80, he is thought to be the longest-surviving heart double bypass patient in Australia.

Lauren spoke to John about his daunting experience, and to cardiac surgeons who say the procedure has become faster and safer to the point of being "routinely boring".

Bypass surgery is also being performed less as more sophisticated techniques are used, and people are more aware that factors such as poor diet, a sedentary lifestyle, and smoking contribute to heart disease.

Some of that awareness can be attributed to Norm, a cartoon bloke in Life. Be in It, a successful health campaign that first aired the same year John had his surgery. 

But don't get too relaxed, heart disease still is a leading killer of both men and women in Australia.

So, as Norm was encouraged to do: "Turn off the telly, and go for a walk outside."

Lauren will be back next week with all the latest in health. If there's anything you'd like her to cover, send us an email.

For all the latest in health, check out our dedicated health page, catch us on Instagram, or browse our Health & Wellbeing collection on ABC iview.

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