Mike Matarazzo- Triple Bypass heart surgery..

[THE BOUNCER]

Written by: Peter McGough

Bodybuilding great, Mike Matarazzo underwent triple bypass heart surgery on Wednesday, December 8 and is now recovering in his Modesto (Northern California) home.
Mike, 39, was admitted to his local Modesto hospital on Sunday, Dec 5, after suffering from shortness of breath for a couple of weeks. "I thought I had a virus" Mike told me from his hospital bed.

It was much more serious than that: Tests showed two of his arteries were completely blocked and one was 90 per cent blocked. The diagnosis was conjunctive heart failure and triple bypass surgery was scheduled for Wednesday, December 8. Mike came through the three-hour operation with no problems. His surgeon said the procedure went as well as it possibly could.

Mike was in the Intensive Care Unit for two days, and was out of bed and walking 24 hours after the op. On Friday, December 10 he was placed on a normal ward and two days ago (Monday December 13) he went home.

Mike told me, "At the moment I have a ton of stitches and about 50 staples down the front of my chest." He was in very good spirits, but said, "No jokes please, it hurts most when I laugh." (Please note: Mike only laughs at me when I'm trying to be serious). The staples will be taken out in about four weeks and currently Mike is undergoing a rehabilitation program calling for light exercise.

Mike is one of the most popular and likeable pros of the last decade and a half, with a reputation of being a warrior in the gym and on the stage. As he takes on the biggest challenge of his life, I'm sure the whole bodybuilding community wishes him a speedy and full recovery. FLEX magazine and flexonline.com will keep you updated on Mike's progress.

[Pumpdogg]

That sucks, I remember when he had to get out of the game due to other health problems and now this

PD

[Megiddo]

What is the cause of this? I ask because I have seen a lot of big guys over the years have heart problems, Arnie for example as well as a lot of pro wrestlers.

[Severedties]

How could a 39 year old man have his heart arteries completely blocked? THat is unreal to me, especially someone as active as matazarro.

THats a scary thought. Would it be due to diet, or the fucked up lipid profiles caused by gear usage. 39 is real young.

[New_Mass]

Mike's a warrior, speedy recovery bro..

[hitmansb]

While gear and a high-fat diet will elevate cholesterol somewhat, genetics play the biggest role where cholesterol is concerned by far.

[Timma]

Originally posted by hitmansb
While gear and a high-fat diet will elevate cholesterol somewhat, genetics play the biggest role where cholesterol is concerned by far.

You got that right. Genetics plays a huge role on if you'll have heart or cholesterol problems.

[7lok4]

Originally posted by Severedties
How could a 39 year old man have his heart arteries completely blocked? THat is unreal to me, especially someone as active as matazarro.

THats a scary thought. Would it be due to diet, or the fucked up lipid profiles caused by gear usage. 39 is real young.

Genetics are the bottom line. How you treat your body can speed up or slow down the process. My father died of from a heart attack due to congestive heart failure when he was 40. He was a very average sized guy with a typical unhealthy diet (but not too bad) Smoked on and off but not a lot. In comparison I have put my body through much more abuse that would lead to heart problems. I get my cholesterol, triglyceride and homosystine(sp?) levels checked regularly and they seem to be alright. This does not mean that I wont have problems.

[Pumpdogg]

Yeah I see what allot of you are saying, but lets face it, all the years and all of the drugs hae put him where he is at now. Yes genetics play a large role of course, however there are many people with not so great genetics who do not have these problems.... they also did not spend over a decade on a BB drugs non stop.

PD

[hitmansb]

Genetics play a far greater role than most people realize. I need not look any further than my grandmother for proof of this. She grew up on a farm in Poland, and has been eating the diet she acquired a taste for back then ever since. I do her grocery shopping for her, so I know this is what she takes in every week:

a dozen eggs
2L of 2% milk
2L of buttermilk
1L of 3.2% yogurt
1L of Sour Cream
a small block of cheese
1/4 lb. of double-smoked bacon

assorted meats such as kielbassa, pork chops, chicken with the skin, ect.

She's 84 and going strong...a person with bad genetics for cholesterol would have been dead by 40, someone with average genetics dead by 60. Here's the thing...her cholesterol is in the NORMAL range, in spite of her being rather inactive over the past few years due to deteriorating eyesight. Genetic predisposition plays a far greater role than diet or drug use, or anything else.

[Megiddo]

Man I am gonna die young

[Mr incredible]

I hear all of what you guys are saying on genetics and diet but I think its a lot to do with how much strain you put the body through as well. In an article where Arnie was questioned about the pigs artery he was having put in to replace his own he said well its partly a preventative measure in that he had a genetic defect, inherited from his mother, he also summed up the effect of his body building pretty well in my view when he said " well just as if you get a car and prepare the engine for racing by making it run at a higher than normal pressure (in reality this could be like adding a turbo to a normally aspirated angine or changing other aspect of the air intake like the carb), sooner pr later one or more of the parts are going to need replacing earlier than they would of done before the alterations.

Lets face it the only way we are able to lift such heavy weights is by a system of nerves, muscles cartilage and bone which is all served by veins and arteries that surge in pressure every time we perform a lift.

In terms of excercising for cardiovascular health all the modern medicine theories seem to say that key is to perform extended moderate excercise, essentially massaging the heart at a higher than normal rate but not making it run at 200bmp.

Any stress you put the body under will take its toll, its all about helping it recover. How many of us here do enough cardio?

Not many I bet, me included.

[hitmansb]

Originally posted by Mr incredible
How many of us here do enough cardio?

Not many I bet, me included.

Guilty. My New Year's resolution is to change that.

[BBAddict]

Mine is to do less cardio. I think one of my hindrances to putting on more mass may be the fact that I do to much cardio, so I'm gonna try at least doing less intense cardio.

[house1]

How many of us here do enough cardio?

this is the key!!!!

my doc is always on me about doing cardio -- its the most important thing you can do at the gym concerning your cardiovascular system-

its a must -- i am now doing it ed to eod -- i am at a point were i have to do it-

docs orders

[7lok4]

Cardio is key but not everything. I had a prof in college that was militant about his diet and exercise due to family history of heart disease. Both his brothers and his father died at 47 from massive heart attacks. He ran 4-5 miles a day and was borderline vegetarian in an attempt to keep his cholesterol down. This guy did EVERYTHING right. One afternoon he was in the fieldhouse doing his daily run and he dropped dead of a heart attack. He was 47.
This is the exception not the rule but this type of thing happens often enough. In a way we are all pre-programed to a certain degree. How we treat our bodies either speeds up or slows down the inevitable...or in this case not.

[rock]

I think Mike's dad just passed away recently aw well...could be genetic....

[Mr incredible]

Originally posted by rock
I think Mike's dad just passed away recently aw well...could be genetic....

Not really, I would assume his dad is older than him.