You would think because celebrities have the money to employ personal trainers and chefs and the motivation of keeping their careers afloat as a reason to stay fit, that heart disease would rank among the least of their worries. But given that 80 million Americans, or one in three, have some form of cardiovascular disease, that idea suddenly seems reasonable. Here's a collection of notable folks who are learning to live with and conquer heart disease.
Larry King: The CNN talk-show host had a heart attack in February 1987, which prompted to him reform his smoking, unconscientious eating, and physically inactive ways. "I took immediate steps: stopped smoking the day of the heart attack," he admitted in The Hidden Epidemic: Heart Disease in America, a program that first aired on PBS in 2007. "Some months later, I wound up having bypass surgery, and that really changed everything in my life."
Dick Cheney: The former vice president had his first heart attack at the age of 37 and has suffered three more since. After an electrocardiogram uncovered an abnormal heart rhythm in June 2001, he had a cardioverter defibrillator implanted under his skin and now adheres to a strict dietary, medication, and exercise regimen.
Toni Braxton: In 2004, the 41-year-old R&B singer was rushed to the emergency room for pericarditis, an inflammation of the tissue surrounding the heart. Then in 2007, Braxton was told that she had high blood pressure. She now takes a beta blocker, works out every day, and avoids salty foods. The Grammy winner told Newsweek, "You can be in your thirties, less than 115 pounds, exercise-and have heart disease."
Regis Philbin: The host of Live with Regis and Kelly underwent an angioplasty in 1993 and a triple bypass operation in 2007. "I keep an eye on my cholesterol, and on my exercise, and on the things I eat," he divulged in a clip on heart disease for Canadian TV.
Peggy Fleming: The former figure skater, who won gold at the 1968 Olympics, was diagnosed with high cholesterol. "I was surprised that my cholesterol had gone so high, but then again I have a terrible risk factor in my family. My father died at 41, and my sister died last year at age 50. My youngest sister just had a triple bypass," Fleming said in a 2002 USA Today online chat. "I'm on Lipitor right now, which has lowered my cholesterol from 235 to 181 in a matter of months." Fleming said she also stays active by running about four times a week, lifting weights, and performing circuit-training exercises.
