Mark Spitz has been in the news recently for having his long-standing Olympic gold medal record broken by Michael Phelps, but this month’s Heart Healthy Living has a very different story about Spitz. The master swimmer and until last week, Olympic record-holder, talks about living with heart disease and how he’s handled high cholesterol in “When Fit Isn’t Healthy Enough.”

Look Inside >> Fall 2008

It came as a big shock to Spitz that someone in as good shape as he was could have high cholesterol. At age 39 he was attempting to qualify for the 1992 Barcelona Olympics and at the beginning of his training regimen he tested high for cholesterol. After training seriously, losing 45 pounds, and reducing his body fat percentage to 2%, Spitz was surprised to find that his cholesterol had actually risen even higher! It was hard for him to accept that someone in as fit as shape as he was at that time could have heart disease, but he now understands that high cholesterol can attack anyone, regardless of their diet and exercise habits.

Spitz went on Lipitor which brought his cholesterol down into a safe range, and remains on the daily medicine to this day. He now urges people to stay on top of their cholesterol every chance he gets.