This holds true for almost all other sports as well. The cause of this is the exertion that causes cardiac work beyond the capacity of the heart to obtain oxygen. There is also a section on sudden cardiac death syndrome in Edmonds' 'Diving and Subaquatic Medicine', Chapter 26, p. 354. Those who did not have substantial arteriosclerosis often had pre-existing hypertension. The nice part of all this is that the risk factors for CAD are for the most part controllable.
Cigarette smoking is the most common risk and is easily the most preventable.
Family history is important but the information derived from the knowledge can help you avoid CAD by closer attention to your health. Damage is done to the lining of the vessels in a process poorly understood, a plaque is formed likened to rust in a pipe, and grows until it blocks the flow of blood. This blockage causes the heart muscle to die-and this in essence is a heart attack. About 1 million people have this to happen each year-and about half of them die suddenly from the attack. Detection of CAD before it causes trouble is done by stressing the heart by exposure to exercise on a treadmill or a bicycle.