List of former elite runners who died of heart attacks

Bruce Ellis 220 marathoner died of heart attack at diner table while in best shape of his life in mid 30s, just a few days before what was expected to be his best marathon ever at Boston. Autopsy said his heart had a lot of fatty tissue.

La Rouche, I had not thought of that before but I would say the most competitive runners, who are those who have had heat and stress related problems in races, are more likely to have arrhythmia problems. I collapsed at the finish line in Hawaii and was packed in ice for half an hour. My first marathon was at mid day sun on a humid 92 degree day.

I just hung up the phone after talking to a 91 year old friend. His back is his problem. He was on his bicycle during our conversation and said he spends all day working at keeping fit. After I retired, my full time job was to keep as fit as I can.

I would say those with the biggest problems, excluding skeletal problems from running, are those who eat red meat.

I have not sifted through this whole thread, but as a lifelong runner and a proponent of the health benefits of exercise via my career choice, we don't need to be naive to the perspective that strenuous endurance activities MAY be associated with acute and/or chronic responses that may be negative. Below are links to three examples. I'd be curious to discover if the structural and physiological changes that are leading to arrhythmias later in life are actually genetically determined and predisposed these individuals to success in endurance events earlier in life.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22160404

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-08/esoc-ecs082811.php

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12919770

OrvilleAtkins wrote:

I would say those with the biggest problems, excluding skeletal problems from running, are those who eat red meat.

Te4ll that to Ric Sayre. There is zero correlation between eating red meat and increased incidence of death at younger ages. You guys are really panic mongers. People die young, even elite athletes. There is zero statistical data to say elite runners - even those that eat meat - die more frequently than anyone else.

jfsdlkjfs wrote:

The heart is a muscle and for many of those who train a lot, especially during their late teens and early twenties, the heart will grow. Similar to people who are obese or generally unhealthy. Depending upon which part of the heart muscle grows it will restrict blood flow to arteries or hinder valves. This is how an enlarged heart will kill an endurance athlete the same way it will kill someone who is unhealthy.

Total nonsense.

Off the Grid wrote:

Excellent health for older people can be had from jogging 30 minutes/day. You do not need to be Ed Whitlock to be a happy healthy 80yr old. Indeed, is Ed that much more fit than the 80 yr old who runs 10k in 60? I'd reckon not.

Please name the 80 year olds who can run 10 in 60 minutes.

There aren't many, that's for sure, possibly less than 1 out of 100,000 of 80 year olds would be able to do this. So it is no feat of the mean. An 80 year old would need to be as fit as Whitlock to break 60 minutes for a 10k, albeit not as fast, but as fit.

That is awesome, Orville.

It is time for a group of competent researchers to draw up a grant proposal to sort out this question. Is there something in common among highly fit endurance athletes who die of heart problems?

Tom

OrvilleAtkins wrote:

I just hung up the phone after talking to a 91 year old friend. His back is his problem. He was on his bicycle during our conversation and said he spends all day working at keeping fit. After I retired, my full time job was to keep as fit as I can.

That is awesome. My uncle is in his 90's, exercises every day, rides an exercycle, lifts weights, and plays golf a couple times a week. The only problem is that he drinks too much, and not water. He got his wife to exercise a little bit which I'm sure helped her greatly. She recently passed.

He used to weigh 235 pounds and was terribly out of shape. I had a conversation with him about diet and health when I was 20. Six months later my mom told me he was 165 pounds, eating healthy and exercising constantly. That I might have had a part of this is quite emotional to me, and encourages me to speak out more with others, knowing that if some small inspiration results then it is all well worthwhile.

My greatest priority is to keep being as fit and healthy as possible, and I encourage my friends to do the same thing.

There is nothing more important than our health, our fitness, and our ability to keep moving ourselves from one place to another. As we get older in years, this becomes of ever more vital importance to our lives.

Barry Brown?

Off the Grid wrote:

Excellent health for older people can be had from jogging 30 minutes/day. You do not need to be Ed Whitlock to be a happy healthy 80yr old. Indeed, is Ed that much more fit than the 80 yr old who runs 10k in 60? I'd reckon not.

J.R. wrote:

Please name the 80 year olds who can run 10 in 60 minutes.

There aren't many, that's for sure, possibly less than 1 out of 100,000 of 80 year olds would be able to do this. So it is no feat of the mean. An 80 year old would need to be as fit as Whitlock to break 60 minutes for a 10k, albeit not as fast, but as fit.

Sorry I guess the point is that if you are a casual runner(as defined by LR), you are every bit as healthy as an elite athlete. It is specious to suggest that an older athlete who does not dedicate himself to training will not be as healthy as a runner to trains >10hrs/week.

Notice I say, "healthy", not "fit".

Free Radicals!!!! need to combat them more effectively???

Alberto Salazar,,He died but was brought back to life! Jim Fix...

J.R. wrote:

My uncle is in his 90's, exercises every day, rides an exercycle, lifts weights, and plays golf a couple times a week. The only problem is that he drinks too much, and not water.

If your Uncle is in his 90's and still living large I would venture to guess that drinking may not be to his detriment.

Jefe in the CO wrote:

If your Uncle is in his 90's and still living large I would venture to guess that drinking may not be to his detriment.

Oh yeah it does hurt him a lot. When he's drinking, he can't get up off the floor and gets very mean, bad mouth, then can't remember what he said. It is probably the drinking that will kill him.

My Mom is 92, older than him and doing quite well.

My Mom is 92, older than him and doing quite well.[/quote]

Pics of your Mom ? I'm appealing my conviction .

I believe he committed suicide. But he is indeed dead.

Salazar was predisposed to family genetics, HBP etc. He was also excessive Type A or C personality with major stress relating to his own self and pursuit of excellence. The number of times he pushed himself past the red line may have also contributed to his health issues.