Death and Exercise

Interesting question. I wonder if the scientist made his or her own judgement re the mountain biking and the slopes he rode. I've never been a mountain biker, but I figure there are various types of trails. I wonder if he was always an exercising person, or did it only sporadically.

I also figure there are variations in mds' knowledge about exercise; I don't know, but I suspect that many docs may have people they reference, such as physiotherapists, who they connect the patient to, while describing the patient's state of health.

Got a link?

This man had recently won a Nobel prize, so I'm of the opinion that he liked to push himself to the limits of whatever he was doing.

One other thing, exercise is supposed to strengthen the heart muscle. But again, what are the limits?

I dunno, seems to me there should be some watching involved re this or that rise in heartbeat, etc., what with all the new tools around.

You may be right about the fellow's forward going nature.

Years ago when I belonged to what I remember was a great YMCA, there was a lot of instruction on this kind of thing; somewhere in my files I think I still have the results of their testing me and their recommendations. This person would likely "know better". Or, maybe he wasn't that way, maybe the opposite, and trying to obey the exercise agenda.

I meant to add, some of our posters have been through varieties of heart stuff, and know more, at the least re how they were instructed. The ones I'm thinking of are not dummies.

On the recent deaths thread, I noted that a 79 yr old former actor died of an aortic rupture, while ice skating with his 19 yr old son.

How does one test for lesions in the aortic wall? Visualization or measurements?

I don't know. My father in law died of an aortic aneurysm, as they called it then. No clue before it happened. At this point I don't remember how often they saw doctors, though his wife had been a nurse. I wonder too about testing for it at routine screenings of elders. I don't know if they happen slowly or fast.

We could look some of this up.

They also use what's called a stress test...I wonder about folks who drop dead during this test...

Did his doctor advise him to go mountain biking? In my experience, when doctors speak about exercise they simply mean physical activity which could be taking a walk every day. I hardly think that can be considered bad for people, even if old. It's not like doctors are encouraging patients to take on extreme sports. They simply want their patients to be active, as that is very important for people's health regardless of their age.

I don't know what his Doctors told him to do. Because of his standing in science, I'd bet that his physician handled him with kid gloves.

Interesting question. I've worked our regularly and hard for my whole adult life; long distance running & bike riding, 10 years on a West Coast Rugby team, weight lifting etc. I'm in my 70s now and still at it, though I gave up deep squats & running when I had a knee replacement a few years ago. I've cut back a bit on the max weights (bench press at 185lbs now vs 245 a decade ago - but substitute with more reps. Giving ground slowly is the plan now). My doc has suggested "finding more age appropriate exercises" (whatever that is) but I'm staying with my routine. While your'e living - live, and use it or lose it are my rules.

I learned decades ago that working out didn't solve any of my problems, but for about six hours after a good workout I didn't give a damn. Much later I learned it was the seratonin rush .... I'll take it !

Don't they cover statistics in Medical School?

Sure there are stories of exercise causing death. There are also stories of seat belts causing death. That doesn't mean that exercising or wearing a seat belt lowers your life expectancy. There are even people who have choked to death eating a salad....

Data is not the plural of anecdote.

Yeah!

So how many more people drop dead because they weren't doing any exercise?

That's like people who smoke saying "Well, everyone's got to die of something"

I believe that rush is atrributable to endorphins not seratonin. Written from Nitpickers Anonymous.

Brings to mind a friend from years back, who, upon the death of her father blamed the manufacturers of Lucky Strike cigarettes for having caused his death. The fact that he was 95 didn't factor for into her thinking.

She also considered suing the Federal government because (according to her), the army had encouraged him to smoke and so he perished far far too young.

Sounds like an excellent routine. How's your blood pressure?

Should people with some form of heart disease exercise? Sure...some exercise is good for the heart, even if you don't have heart disease, but what if you have heart disease?

How do you know how far to go with exercise, so that you don't kill yourself during the process of trying to be healthy?

I could fault the federal government. At reception center, a sort of pre basic training, tobacco representatives were handing out samples as fast as their little hands could move. Still, it was a choice, and in 1962 we were already calling them coffin nails and cancer sticks.

Personally, I'm not that worried about being dead, but how it happens is a concern. COPD is a long, slow death while you're on a very short leash connected to your oxygen bottle.

We are all going to die, but hopefully, we can minimize the less attractive ways to go.

Oh yeah, we were talking about exercise, weren't we?

What about that actor that was in a sitcom decades ago, and now was doing other work. He was originally Canadian. His name skips me now. But he was playing hockey with his son when he got a heart attack, just a week ago or so, I thought.

Why wouldn't some doctors advocate for exercise, when a senior citizen that collapses during exercise is big bucks for the medical establishment? If you know any woman who lived into their 90's back in the 20th century, their exercise was shopping and dusting and cooking. They often outlived their husbands by a lifetime.

But, now that women are competitive, and might get as angry as males, they might be shortening their lives? Stupid is as stupid does (taken from the movie, Forest Gump).