WASHINGTON — Dave Martinez is a survivor.

He managed to survive the Nationals’ 19-31 start and a heart procedure in mid-September.

After the Nationals came away with a 7-4 win Tuesday night at Nationals Park and a four-game NLCS sweep of the Cardinals to send the Nationals to the World Series, Martinez put it all in perspective.

“These guys right here,’’ he said, pointing to his team, “cured my heart. My heart feels great right now. Bumpy roads often lead to beautiful places and this is a beautiful place.

“I never doubted these guys. I kept telling myself, ‘Stick to the process. Teach. As soon as everybody gets healthy, we’ll make a run.’ After May 24, we played playoff baseball the rest of the year.’’

Now they are running all the way to the World Series and a date with the Astros or Yankees on Tuesday.

“I’ve been through a lot of stuff in my career — Game 162, Game 163, World Series in ’08, 2016, 108 years waiting to get — but this right here, to me, tops everything I’ve ever been through,’’ said Martinez, a former bench coach with the Rays and Cubs. “I’m so proud of the guys. They could have folded. They didn’t.’’

Martinez has pushed the Nats to enjoy the game and have fun and has encouraged bench player and Baby Shark-keeper Gerardo Parra to “bring the energy.’’

That means giving Stephen Strasburg big hugs in the dugout even though Strasburg hates to be hugged. Then there is that Baby Shark in the dugout to encourage hitters like in their seven-run first inning Tuesday night.

It’s all fun when you bring a city to the World Series for the first time since 1933.

“Honestly, I feel really good,’’ Martinez, 55, said of his health. “I don’t know if you guys have noticed, I have been sitting down a little bit more in the dugout. Just because the doctor told me to kind of keep the heart rate down a little bit. It’s tough to do, but I’m doing it, and it’s helped a lot.

“I feel my health is great. I took all the tests. Everything came back negative, and I feel good. So the running joke now is I had to take a stress test and I told the doctors, I said, you don’t see me every day? I take a stress test every day and I think I’m passing.’ ’’

He credited bench coach Chip Hale with helping him get through the difficult times.

“He’s been awesome,’’ Martinez said. “He’s an extension of my voice. We talk a lot pregame about what we want to do, what we want to accomplish, how we want to process things. But he’s been my confidant. Our message has always been the same. He’s been one of the guys who passes that along to the players about staying positive, not pointing any fingers, and just playing the game.

“Chip’s a student of the game. He’s unbelievable. He’s on top of everything. He does a great job. I love him to death. I mean, we have some intense conversations, and we learn from each other every day.’’

There also were intense conversations with GM Mike Rizzo, especially at 19-31.

“I talk to Mike four or five times a day,’’ Martinez said. “Some conversations are good. Some are not so good, but we get along really, really good. I mean, super good. He knows the kind of person I am, and I know the kind of person he is. We’ve had conversations before, and he always says, ‘Hey, you do you and do your thing, and I’m never going to tell you ever how to manage a game.’ ’’

Not even in the World Series.