(CNN) -- Ernie Bender was lean and athletic; he skied and walked a lot, and would go snowshoeing every Wednesday with his friends. A golf course superintendent, he lived in Vail, Colorado, with his wife and three sons. One evening in 2000, he and his buddies decided to snowshoe up Vail Mountain and ride the gondola down. Bender complained of indigestion on the way up, which was odd because his last meal had been lunch. He told his friends he needed to sit down before getting on the gondola. After the group got in the cable car, he lost consciousness.
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Heart attack risk goes up in men over 45 and women over 55
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It can happen even earlier: Sage Stallone died at age 36
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Maintaining good blood pressure and normal weight can help reduce risk
@placeholder's father had a triple bypass surgery more than a year before Bender's death, Tofferi said.