Michael Jackson reportedly was working out several hours a day to prepare for the "This Is It" tour set to begin next month in London. The superstar worked with choreographer and director Kenny Ortega, left. Jackson, 50, died June 25 of a suspected heart attack or sudden cardiac arrest.
Early reports suggest that Jackson, 50, suffered a heart attack or sudden cardiac arrest on June 25, amid weeks of intense physical rehearsals for a 50-show gig starting in London next month. While there’s some question about possible drug abuse, doctors say launching an arduous exercise program causes problems for older people every day.
“After age 40, the frequency of sudden cardiac arrest goes up dramatically under the stress of exercise,” said Dr. Mark Estes, past president of the Heart Rhythm Society based in Washington, D.C.
“Among the worst offenders are famous athletes who still consider themselves in shape.”
It’s vital for older exercisers, even those who were very fit when they were young, to be screened for underlying heart conditions and to build up the intensity and duration of any fitness program gradually — if at all.
“Regular moderate exercise is good for you,” Estes said. “It’s not clear that intense exercise does much more for you.”
Jackson worked out hours every day Estes and several other cardiologists emphasized that they can’t speak directly to Jackson’s health or his fitness regime. Dancers working with Jackson have said in press reports that he was practicing choreography and working out several hours a day, keeping up with the 20-year-olds in his entourage.
But the doctors said what’s been lost in the discussion of the pop star’s health, and his death, is the fact that he was an aging man, a Baby Boomer with all of the health baggage that that implies.
“He’s 50 years old and 50-year-old people die every day,” said Dr. Bruce Wilkoff, an expert in cardiac arrhythmia at the Cleveland Clinic.
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