[JayTee]

One of my best bicycling buddies is in the hospital after having a heart attack yesterday afternoon. I'm a little shell shocked over the whole ordeal. Angioplasty this pm.

But she's not even 40 yet, probably 5'7" 125. Rode last year's Bicycle Tour of Colorado and Triple Bypass with me and some others.

I know there are genetic components and fitness ain't everything (witness Jim Fixx) but this still has me very confused.

 

[morrison]

Sorry to hear it. There was a guy here in San Diego that I used to run into every morning at the coffee cart outside my building. He ran 4 or 5 of them and was a recreational cyclist. I think he was averaging about 100 miles a week. Not a lot, but certainly enough to keep in shape. He couldn't have been over 50, and he appeared to be pretty fit. One day, he climbed a 3/4 mile hill with his girlfriend and, when he got to the top, fell over dead. Apparently, he had a congenital heart defect that had gone undetected, or something like that.

Good thing your friend made it to the hospital, and I hope everything works out.

 

[morrison]

No matter how well we take care of ourselves, we can't guarantee long life, but we can increase the odds.

Well said. We also can increase the enjoyment. No buzz I've ever had is better than the way I feel after a couple of hours in the saddle.

 

[mickey-mac]

One of my best bicycling buddies is in the hospital after having a heart attack yesterday afternoon. I'm a little shell shocked over the whole ordeal. Angioplasty this pm.

But she's not even 40 yet, probably 5'7" 125. Rode last year's Bicycle Tour of Colorado and Triple Bypass with me and some others.

I know there are genetic components and fitness ain't everything (witness Jim Fixx) but this still has me very confused.

I was looking for some cycling gear on line and found a link to a shop in the SF Bay Area that seemed to have what I was looking for. On the home page is the story of the owner (who was in his 40s) who died of a heart attack on a recent solo ride. Apparently the guy was in amazing shape with no history of heart problems. He left behind a wife and young child. I have no insight into the matter; it's just another sad story of a physically fit person who left us too soon. OTOH, there are probably 20 or more fat slobs dying of heart attacks for every runner or cyclist in the same age range dying unexpectedly. No matter how well we take care of ourselves, we can't guarantee long life, but we can increase the odds.

 

[GTDave]

One of my best bicycling buddies is in the hospital after having a heart attack yesterday afternoon. I'm a little shell shocked over the whole ordeal. Angioplasty this pm.

But she's not even 40 yet, probably 5'7" 125. Rode last year's Bicycle Tour of Colorado and Triple Bypass with me and some others.

I know there are genetic components and fitness ain't everything (witness Jim Fixx) but this still has me very confused.

Wow, I am sorry to hear about your friend. My Father-in-Law who has been a cyclist, runner, and all-around healthy living guy for many years is dealing with stints and such now too.
What occurred to me is that I think we confuse the "lowering of risk" that healthy habits are supposed to create with the "elimination of risk" which is impossible. My FIL's situation has driven home to me that one should remember that living is dangerous, and you are going to die from it. Some of us sooner, some of us later.
Like Clint Eastwood said in "Unforgiven"
"Deserve's got nothing to do with it"

I know it sounds kind of harsh, and I don't mean it to, but it does come as a shock when reality flies in the face of our expectations. My FIL developing heart problems really rocked my world. He was responsible, in large part for getting me into cycling and running , and I had always looked at him as a "gonna live forever" guy. So I think I share your feeling of surprise.

Be good to your friend.

 

[Ridgetop]

Majorly lousy situation and very scarey at the same time. The human body is both an amazing creation/machine, but at the same time it can develop the most unusual, and unfortunate flaws. One minor detail, such as a blood clot in the leg, and all heck breaks loose. I'm really sorry to hear that about the fellow. Just isn't right for a person to go down under such situations. I guess if nothing else, it reminds us that life is a lot more fragile than we think and it's probably a good idea to live each day for what it is. Personally, I live to believe the next day will happen, but try to make sure that I've lived the present day as if I might just not wake up the following morning. That way I know there won't be any regrets and not too much pain left behind when I go.

 

[Len J]

That would shake me too.......

One of my best bicycling buddies is in the hospital after having a heart attack yesterday afternoon. I'm a little shell shocked over the whole ordeal. Angioplasty this pm.

But she's not even 40 yet, probably 5'7" 125. Rode last year's Bicycle Tour of Colorado and Triple Bypass with me and some others.

I know there are genetic components and fitness ain't everything (witness Jim Fixx) but this still has me very confused.

only goes to show you that we all need to treasure the important people in our life every day.

Len

 

[cmatcan]

i dunno if any of you follow running, but Kenenisa Bekele, whos a top Ethiopian runner- his girlfriend, who was a top university-level cross-country star, died of a sudden heart attack on a training run. It is definitely a scary thing, but at the same time you can't think about it too much.

 

[TurboTurtle]

One of my best bicycling buddies is in the hospital after having a heart attack yesterday afternoon. I'm a little shell shocked over the whole ordeal. Angioplasty this pm.

But she's not even 40 yet, probably 5'7" 125. Rode last year's Bicycle Tour of Colorado and Triple Bypass with me and some others.

I know there are genetic components and fitness ain't everything (witness Jim Fixx) but this still has me very confused.

Sorry, but glad to hear that she made it to the hospital. Hope all ends well.

We have to remember that all the statistics are just that. They tell us a great deal about the entire population. They tell us nothing about the individuals within that population.

TF