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PLANO, Texas (April 23, 2007) -- Marc Shalek has some unconventional advice for those joggers and wanna-be joggers who are inspired by the warmer weather to make good on that New Year’s resolution: check your cholesterol and your genes before you buy that new pair of running shoes.

Shalek is actually Dr. Shalek, a cardiologist at Legacy Heart Center in Plano, Texas and an avid marathoner. He’s run in five marathons—including the Boston Marathon in 2005—and has a personal best time of 3 hours and 18 minutes.

“Running in the summer presents its own set of challenges,” Dr. Shalek notes. “Hydration becomes more important, as does stretching and a post-run cool down period. But before you even get to the starting line, no matter what your age, put a visit with your doctor on your pre-run checklist.”

A thorough medical exam can discover dangerous cholesterol levels and illuminate genetic risks many seemingly healthy and fit people don’t think about. “They could be literally running themselves to death,” Dr. Shalek noted.

Too many joggers think that the exercise gives them a license to eat anything they want. And although polishing off a cheeseburger after a run does much to restore your protein balance, it can also deposit plaque-building cholesterol on your artery walls—even if you’re a winning marathon runner.

Couple high cholesterol with a family history of heart disease and there is no amount of exercise that will keep your heart beating strong or at all.

“Runners and anyone interested in exercising to maintain their health should realize that what we eat and who are parents are play an equal part in our cardiovascular health,” Dr. Shalek said.

Controlling your cholesterol, understanding your genetic history and honestly and thoroughly evaluating your life-style choices can help amateur and professional athletes alike avoid the kind of heart-stopping incidents that have felled people as fit as Ed Burke, an exercise physiologist who advised cycling greats like Greg LeMond and Lance Armstrong. Burke dropped dead in 2002 at 53 from heart attack during a lunchtime bike ride. Reportedly, he had a family history of heart problems.

Dr. Shalek also recommends that your see your doctor after you start exercising if you begin to feel overly fatigued, short of breath, lightheaded or even suffer from indigestion, all of which can be early symptoms that your arteries are not providing your heart with enough blood to function properly.

“Unfortunately, the best exercise program in the world can’t completely compensate for high cholesterol, for poor eating habits or bad genetics,” Dr. Shalek noted. “You can’t change your parent, but you can review your diet and take steps to reduce artery clogging saturated fats and excess cholesterol or, if necessary, get on a drug regimen that will lower your cholesterol and keep it low.”

Dr. Shalek, who has been practicing medicine for more than 13 years, focuses on the aggressive treatment and management of coronary risk factors such as smoking, high blood pressure, cholesterol, physical inactivity, obesity and diabetes in his practice.

In 2004 he was named to D Magazine's list of the "Best Doctors in Dallas" and in 2005 and 2006 was named a "Texas Super Doctor" by Texas Monthly.

He is one of Legacy Heart Center’s 15 cardiologists and more than 100 other health and administrative professionals who provide patients with a comprehensive array of cardiovascular diagnostic testing and treatment services at its facility at 6601 Preston Road in Plano. The cardiology practice has been in operation for more than 20 years, and also treats patients at The Heart Hospital Baylor Plano, Baylor Regional Medical Center at Plano, Presbyterian Hospital of Plano and Medical Center of McKinney.