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Heart of a Champion
Pro Wrestler, Former Olympian Kurt Angle Grapples With Family Legacy

By Bryan Robinson

Sept. 18— For former Olympic gold medalist and World Wrestling
Entertainment superstar Kurt Angle, being involved in the nation's
first angina awareness program is not just a way to give back to the
community. It is also his way of grappling with a tragic family legacy
and giving a gift of life to his infant daughter.
 
Angina refers to the pain or discomfort people feel when the blood
going to the heart may not have enough oxygen, or the heart receives
less blood because the arteries are partially blocked. Angina attacks
— which can be triggered by any physical activity and emotional stress
— are not the same as cardiac arrests, but can be a sign of
underlying, more serious heart disease.

Last year, the Preventive Cardiovascular Nurses Association launched
"Get Tough on Angina," a national awareness and education program for
angina sufferers and their families, and Angle became a campaign
spokesman.

Angle was all too aware of the effects of heart disease: He says 15 of
his family members have either died from heart attacks or battled
angina or other heart diseases.

"My sister had a heart attack at age 41, my dad had two heart attacks
before he was 55, my uncle and all four of grandparents died from
heart attacks," said the WWE champion. "For a while growing up, I
thought that heart attacks were just a natural way to go, that most
everyone died from heart attacks."

A Shift in Priorities

On the surface, Angle, 34, is the picture of perfect health. Wrestling
fans are using to seeing his 6-foot-2-inch, 220-pound mass of muscle
slamming and taking down 300- and 400-pound men around WWE rings.
Angle, however, takes nothing for granted.

"Since my family — on both sides — are affected by heart disease, I
make sure I get regular [heart] checkups, which is something I never
did before [involvement in Get Tough on Angina]," Angle said.

"I've undergone the various tests — heart catheterization, the
calcium-buildup tests, and everything has come up negative," he said.
"I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that I take care of
myself. Many people in my family were heavy drinkers, heavy smokers."

Angle had been used to overcoming injuries to accomplish athletic
goals. He came back from a knee injury in 1992 to win his second NCAA
wrestling championship and won a gold medal in freestyle wrestling at
the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta despite having a broken neck.

But Angle's fight against angina and other heart disease is driven by
more than his individual needs. He wants to make sure he is around to
care for his wife, Karen, and their daughter, Kira, who was born last
December.

"I wanted to get involved in something that helped others and helped
my family," Angle said. "When I got involved in Get Tough on Angina,
there was a shift in priorities. It became about my making sure I keep
myself as healthy as I can so I can take care of my family. … Back in
the '50s and '60s, many people did not know how bad smoking and
drinking was for them. Today, in America, we're more well-informed."

A Healthy Heart — for Your Children's Sake

There is no known evidence that angina had any role in last week's
death of actor John Ritter, who suffered a dissection of the aorta due
to what doctors said was an undetectable heart defect. Still, Angle
hinted that perhaps Ritter's death should send a message to others:
Get regular checkups.

"I couldn't believe it [upon hearing about Ritter's death]," Angle
said. "Personally, I think everything's detectable. God bless John. I
don't know the facts of his case. Maybe he had himself tested, maybe
he didn't."

As Angle spoke to ABCNEWS.com, he was on his on his way to Eastern
Carolina University in Greenville, N.C., where he would defend his WWE
title. Later in the week, he was scheduled to headline other shows in
Raleigh, N.C., and then in New York City at Madison Square Garden.

Angle the Olympic competitor and sports entertainer (WWE's term for
its wrestlers) looked forward to the shows as well as next year's
Wrestlemania XX, to be held at Madison Square Garden. He said he'd
like to call out of retirement a man who's considered a pro wrestling
legend in the United States and Canada.

"I'd love to step in the ring with Bret Hart," Angle said. "Many
consider him the greatest wrestler of the 20th century and some have
said I'm the greatest wrestler of the new millennium. So, I'd like to
put out an open invitation to Bret Hart."

Still, Angle the father — who at times has to spend four or five days
a week on the road away from his wife and daughter in Pittsburgh —
knows his fight against heart disease will continue, even after his
wrestling days are over. After all, he'd like to see his baby girl
grow up. He also doesn't want her to be deprived of knowing some of
the members of her family.

"It's our responsibility to make sure our children grow up with both
parents," Angle said. "It's unfair for children to have to grow up not
knowing one of their parents, some of their relatives. Children should
know at least two of their grandparents."

Editor's Note: Angle's sister LeAnne, who suffered a heart attack last
year, suddenly passed away after he talked to ABCNEWS.com. He is
taking some time off from his WWE schedule to be with his family.


--- Internet Rex 2.29