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R.I.P Edmund Burke

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R.I.P Edmund Burke

Old 11-08-02, 01:56 PM
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R.I.P Edmund Burke

Wow, I'm shocked, read the following on Velonews
today:
Sports physiologist Ed Burke died Thursday of an apparent heart attack while on a bike ride near his home in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

The 53-year-old Burke was on a group ride and collapsed at the side of the road. He could not revived by friends or emergency medical personnel who appeared at the scene.

Burke earned a doctorate in exercise physiology from Ohio State in 1979 and quickly joined the staff of the United States Cycling Federation, serving as an Olympic team staff member in 1980 and 1984. Burke built a strong reputation for making cutting-edge research in his field accessible to a general audience and wrote extensively for cycling publications, including Winning, Bicycling and VeloNews.

Burke also authored and edited several books on the scientific aspects of cycling and served as the editor of Cycling Science. He is survived by his wife Kathleen.
Condolences to Mrs. Burke.

Marty
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Old 11-08-02, 03:02 PM
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I've been reading his stuff in various magazines and books for a long time. He will be missed by us all.

This is scary. He was 53. I'm 57 - be 58 next month.
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Old 11-08-02, 03:30 PM
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Oh No...
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Old 11-08-02, 05:28 PM
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Wow...that's a shock. It's amazing how these things can happen just like that.
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Old 11-08-02, 05:54 PM
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I feel bad, condolences to all of his family...
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Old 11-08-02, 06:34 PM
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oh my.... I just finished reading a book of his... "serious cycling" it really is good, it's sad to see such a smart person go
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Old 11-08-02, 06:42 PM
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He was bound to be a pretty fit guy. And he had a heart attack while riding. Seems like there was a well known, world class runner that died of a heart attack a number of years ago.

Go figure. :confused:
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Old 11-08-02, 09:18 PM
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Jim Fixx is, I believe the runner you're referring to. From what I understand there was a genetic predisposition to heart failure in his family.

My condolences Dr. Burke's family. We have lost a very knowledgable voice.
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Old 11-10-02, 07:37 PM
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I imagine that there was a genetic predisposition issue w/Burke, too. Maybe just a fluke. Still, it makes you wonder. What was his conditioning and diet routine? I'd assume he was pretty fit recreational cyclist.
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Old 11-10-02, 09:00 PM
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This is a sad story both for his family and for everyone who hopes their bike riding will enhance their mortality.

Makes me wonder if it is worthwhile everyone having a stress test every couple of years. This will at least show that your heart's blood supply is healthy when you work hard. Being fit has little to do with it if you have already laid down plaque due to hereditary (or whatever is the combination) factors.

What do people think ? do you believe in medical stress tests ?
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Old 11-10-02, 09:21 PM
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Jim Fixx ran (and ran and ran ...) knowing he had a heart condition. I don't know about Dr. Burke.

I suppose anybody can succumb to a sudden heart attack. I wonder how many times this happens overall.

I enjoyed reading Burke's articles. This is a shame.
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Old 11-11-02, 09:12 AM
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A female runner people called "Flow Joe" died of a heart attack while she wa sleeping a couple years ago.

It is so wierd that someone so fit, especially aerobically, ould be taken by a heart attack. Just goes to show everybody's vunerable huh?
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Old 11-11-02, 09:46 AM
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I read this morning that Burke's family had
a predispostion to heart attacks.
One would think that given his background that he
kept a close eye on things.
Any way you look at this it is indeed a major
loss for the cycling community.

Marty
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Old 11-11-02, 11:42 AM
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Originally posted by lotek
I read this morning that Burke's family had
a predispostion to heart attacks.
Given an informed choice between walking on eggshells vs. accepting the risk, well, I guess I can't blame him.

It is a major loss, and some tough shoes to fill.
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Old 11-12-02, 02:54 AM
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My condolences to the family.

I have heard of a condition called Sudden Adult Death Syndrome (SADS). In the recent years there have incidents of club runners dying immediately after races from heart attacks. They have been relatively fit people and the post mortems were unable to pinpoint the cause of the heart failure. All they know is the heart stopped and couldn't be restarted.

This is a close relative to the very tragic Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (otherwise known as cot death)
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Old 11-12-02, 02:31 PM
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It almost feels like losing a personal friend when someone whose work you have been reading suddenly dies. He made significant contributions to the sport.

Flo Jo was Florence Griffith Joyner.

Yep, even ultra-fit people like Jim Fixx and Ed Burke can drop dead in an instant. In the late '70s when I was a regular runner and reading Fixx's books there were a couple of other high profile deaths while running. One was either a senator or congressman who had been a serious distance runner for years. Such things made national news because running was very popular at the time.
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Old 11-21-02, 05:21 PM
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This in today from the weekly www.roadbikerider.com email. (quite interesting reading each week BTW)

--------------------------
Last week, we were among 400 people at the memorial
service for Ed Burke.

Many were his friends from the University of Colorado
at Colorado Springs, where Ed was a professor of biology.
Others represented cycling, where Ed was a world leader
in physiology and technology.

The service was moving but not tearfully melancholy.
After all, we were there to celebrate a remarkable life. Ed
Burke was a man of good nature and a positive outlook.
His personality brightened everyone he met.

Perhaps the most wrenching part for cyclists was seeing
Ed's red-white-and-blue GT road bike. It stood lonely at the
front of the room with his helmet and shoes, water bottle in
place and the chain still in low gear. It was on a climb
where Ed suffered his fatal heart attack on Nov. 7 at age 53.

As we chatted with other riders after the service, we
learned more about events leading to Ed's death.

How could a relatively young and apparently fit person
suddenly collapse and die during a ride? Should the rest of
us in his age range be worried, too? We think that Ed, who
wrote extensively about training and fitness, would want you
to have some answers.

Here's what we know:

--- Ed was physically inactive for at least 20 years after
racing in college.

--- In 1997 he decided to get back on the bike. Overweight
and nearing age 50, he admitted concern about his
family's history of heart disease and his own high cholesterol
and blood pressure.

--- He worked back into shape carefully. He routinely refused
to do rides that demanded more than he was ready for.

--- He became an enthusiastic long-distance cyclist,
completing Alaska's Iditabike and the Leadville 100-mile
mountain bike race, among other endurance events. On the road,
he favored tough challenges like Colorado's Triple Bypass.

--- In recent months, he admitted to poor performance on the
bike. In October, he told us he planned to stop riding extreme
events and scale back to "sane centuries."

--- On a ride two weeks before he died, Ed had to stop
several times because he felt so bad with indigestion. He
couldn't figure out what he'd eaten to cause it.

Inexplicable indigestion may be a precursor of heart attack.
We're sure Ed knew this, both academically and because a
friend, ex-pro Hugh Walton, had experienced the same symptom
before his own near-fatal coronary. In fact, Hugh told us
that he and Ed had a long talk about heart problems while
riding together last June.

But apparently Ed didn't heed his own warning signs. In
hindsight, it seems clear that his heart was beginning to
fail. The lesson for the rest of us is obvious: Be vigilant!

o^o o^o o^o o^o o^o o^o o^o o^o o^o o^o

It's estimated that 59 million Americans are living with
some form of cardiovascular disease.

Many people who die from a heart attack have symptoms the
week before the fatal incident. These include chest pain,
increased fatigue, dizziness, ankle swelling and indigestion
or heartburn.

Seek help immediately if you experience any of the following
symptoms of a possible heart attack:

--- Pain or pressure (squeezing sensation) in the middle of
the chest that lasts more than a few moments.

--- Pain that radiates down the arms or into the neck or jaw.

--- Chest discomfort accompanied by shortness of breath,
lightheadedness, sweating, nausea or fainting.

o^o o^o o^o o^o o^o o^o o^o o^o o^o o^o

It's much smarter, of course, not to wait till your heart is
in trouble. To take the initiative on this issue:

--- Find out all you can about your family heart history.

--- Avoid the risk factors that produce coronary artery disease.
These include smoking, hypertension (blood pressure
should be under 140/90), and cholesterol (total should be
under 200 with HDL above 35, LDL under 100 and triglycerides
under 200).

--- Get a CRP test. Inflammation, and its role in heart disease,
is a promising new research area. Ask your physician about
testing for c-reative protein (CRP), a substance the liver makes
in response to immune system signals that may disclose
inflamed heart arteries.

--- Cut back on saturated fats in your diet and increase
portions of fruit, vegetables and whole grains.

--- Exercise aerobically at least four times per week for
30-60 minutes each time. In other words, ride your bike! But
avoid pushing yourself hard when you're dehydrated, bonking
or cramping.

--- Have an annual physical and take an exercise stress test
as often as your doc recommends. In some facilities, you can
get the test done on a bicycle ergometer and determine your
max heart rate, lactate threshold heart rate and power at LT,
as well as heart function -- all good things to know if you're
interested in performance.

Last Tuesday we talked about stress tests with Andy Pruitt, 52,
who directs the Boulder (CO) Center for Sports Medicine and
wrote Andy Pruitt's Medical Guide for Cyclists.

He told us, "My philosophy has been that anyone over 45 who
exercises intensely should have a 12-lead EKG, max stress test
every other year, and more often if there is any history of
heart disease.

"Personally, I've had three stress tests in the last six years.
Had Ed been on that test schedule, he most likely would still
be with us."
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