VICE PRESIDENTIAL hopeful Paul Ryan is living in terror of a family health “curse” that could cut down the rising political star in his prime!
Ryan’s father, grandfather AND great-grandfather all died of heart attacks in their 50s – and the handsome Republican congressman fears he’ll be next!
Ryan was just 16 when he found his 55-year-old father, also named Paul, dead in bed from a heart attack at his Wisconsin home.
Incredibly, his grandfather died at 57 and his great-grandfather at 59 from heart attacks.
Desperate to beat his family genes, Ryan, 42, has become a workout fiend to keep himself in excellent shape.
“Paul secretly feels like a ticking time bomb,” an insider told The ENQUIRER.
“He’s been running from that family curse pretty much his whole life. He’s always doing some kind of cardio – jogging, climbing and exercising – and he’s really careful about what he eats. But that shadow of death is still there. It’s something he’s never going to be able to shake.”
Most mornings, the dedicated fitness fanatic leads fellow congressmen on an intense cross-training routine known as P90X – which involves weights, martial arts, yoga and calisthenics.
The father of three is also a keen outdoorsman, bow hunter, fisherman and archer. And in an astonishing display of endurance, Ryan has made nearly 40 climbs of Colorado’s 14,000-foot peaks.
But a new study shows that exercise goes only so far in combating a family history of heart disease.
Recent research in Denmark, the largest of its kind involving four million people, found that having a close relative die young of heart disease doubles a person’s odds of developing it themselves by age 50.
Ironically, after his selection as Mitt Romney’s running mate, Ryan joked about his Wisconsin roots, saying his “veins run with cheese.”
But pals say the candidate has done everything possible to eliminate artery-clogging cholesterol from his diet and avoid health risks.
“He’s never smoked, avoids sugar and hardly ever drinks alcohol,” said the insider. “He also appears to handle the stress of such a high-profile position extremely well.
“But there are no guarantees. If only he can make it to 60, he’ll be a very happy man.”
