The beat goes on: three decades of stunning advances in cardiology.

Mamula, Paul W · Phys Sportsmed · 2003

review · Level V

Where this comes from

Abstract

When Jim Fixx's The Complete Book of Running became a best-seller, it helped fuel the physical fitness enthusiasm that swept the United States in the mid-to-late 1970s. When he died of a heart attack while running at age 52 a few years later, his death created a stir. An autopsy revealed that his coronary arteries were narrowed by 80% to 99%, and provoked an interest in the risks of exercise in younger people that paralleled growing research into the origins of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Despite the steady decline in deaths from cardiovascular causes, CVD remains the leading cause of death in the United States today.