Okay, so we need to discuss Peloton and Mr. Big. There’s no way around it: This article will contain significant spoilers for HBO’s new Sex and the City revival, And Just Like That… but the truth behind the rumors is very much worth knowing, so if you haven’t watched yet, bookmark this page for after you do.
In the first episode of the season, which premiered on December 9, Mr. Big (Chris Noth) has picked up a serious Peloton habit. Following a 45-minute class with instructor Allegra (played by real-life Peloton instructor Jess King), he has a heart attack. Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker) comes home to find him collapsed on the bathroom floor, with her voiceover revealing the almost unbelievable result: And just like that, Big died.
Fans were, understandably, shocked—and Peloton seemed to be pretty surprised too. (In a statement to BuzzFeed, a spokesperson said they were aware a bike would be in the series, but weren’t given the context of the episode.) Their stocks fell by up to 10% overnight, and the company released a statement to The Los Angeles Times via one of their cardiologists. “I’m sure SATC fans, like me, are saddened by the news that Mr. Big dies of a heart attack,” said Suzanne Steinbaum, D.O., a preventative cardiologist and member of Peloton’s health and wellness advisory council.
She suggested that the real culprit behind Mr. Big’s heart attack wasn’t his bike, but his diet and other lifestyle habits. “Mr. Big lived what many would call an extravagant lifestyle—including cocktails, cigars, and big steaks—and was at serious risk as he had a previous cardiac event in Season 6. These lifestyle choices and perhaps even his family history, which often is a significant factor, were the likely cause of his death.” And she said that rather than causing his heart attack, his Peloton bike habit may have actually helped keep his cardiac problems at bay.
“More than 80% of all cardiac-related deaths are preventable through lifestyle, diet, and exercise modifications,” she said.
It is true that a lot of cardiac emergencies are preventable with the right strategies. The World Health Organization says that 80% of premature heart attacks and strokes are preventable. (They define “premature” as under 70 years of age—Mr. Big was in his 60s.) And back in 2013, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) noted that nearly one in three U.S. deaths each year were due to heart disease and stroke, with more than 6 in 10 happening in people under 65—and that at least 200,000 of those deaths could have been prevented every year. The organization has since launched its Million Hearts initiative to try to prevent one million heart attacks and strokes in the U.S.
Heart attacks happen when a blocked artery in the heart starves the organ of blood flow and oxygen, as SELF previously reported. (Strokes happen when there is bleeding or blocked blood flow in the brain.) Lifestyle does play a big role in heart health and preventing life-threatening cardiac emergencies like heart attacks. The CDC says that consistently eating foods high in saturated fat can contribute to heart disease—but steak isn’t necessarily completely off-limits to people with heart issues like Mr. Big. Different cuts of beef have different amounts of saturated fat. As the Mayo Clinic explains, an “extra lean” cut of beef is any 3.5 ounce-serving (about the size of a deck of cards) with less than 2 grams of saturated fat, less than 95 milligrams of cholesterol, and less than 5 grams of total fat. An eye of round roast or steak, sirloin tip side steak, top and bottom round roast and steak, and top sirloin steak all typically fall under this umbrella.
Choosing beef without visible fat, trimming fat that you do see, and draining fat from the pan before serving can also help reduce the amount of fat when eating or cooking steak. So it’s possible that Mr. Big was enjoying steak as responsibly as he could, at least some of the time. Plus, early on in the episode, he and Carrie have a little repartee about the type of salmon she’d bought for dinner. It’s a notably omega-3-rich pick that the nutrition and medical fields widely consider anti-inflammatory and protective for the heart, and it was clear based on the conversation that this wasn’t their first time enjoying it together.
Alcohol is another tricky subject when it comes to heart health. Some studies suggest moderate alcohol use (two drinks or fewer per day for men, one drink or fewer per day for women) may actually be associated with lower heart disease risk, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine. Many potentially positive findings in this arena center on red wine specifically, which Mr. Big (who at one point in the show owned a vineyard in Napa) has been known to enjoy. But the relationship isn’t necessarily causal—for instance, as Johns Hopkins Medicine points out, it’s possible that people who regularly drink red wine may have higher incomes overall, which is tied to increased access to healthy foods. While the jury’s still out in that realm, it is clear that heavy drinking (more than 15 drinks a week for men and more than 8 drinks a week for women, per the CDC) can lead to high blood pressure, heart failure, and stroke.
Mr. Big’s weekly cigar habit has even fewer redeeming qualities. According to the CDC, smoking causes 25% of cardiovascular disease deaths. It can raise triglycerides (a type of fat) in your blood, lower your body’s “good” (HDL) cholesterol, make your blood more likely to clot and block blood flow to your heart and brain, damage cell lining and plaque buildup in blood vessels, and cause them to thicken and narrow. And, unfortunately, smoking harms more than the person doing it. Secondhand smoke is responsible for nearly 34,000 early deaths from coronary heart disease in the U.S. every year.
Okay, okay, so what about the big question: Could Mr. Big’s high-intensity Peloton ride really have killed him? Maybe—but probably not. First, consistent physical activity is definitely great for your heart. The general healthy-living guidelines for adults include getting about 2 hours and 30 minutes every week of moderate-intensity exercise, like going for a speedy walk or—yes!—cycling, per the CDC. Ryan Reynolds, of all people, made this point in a frankly wild ad Peloton posted to Twitter on December 12 when the internet was still reeling from Mr. Big’s death. The video shows Mr. Big looking quite alive and well in front of a romantic crackling fireplace with none other than Allegra, the Peloton instructor from that fateful ride. In the video, produced by Reynolds’s Maximum Effort agency, Reynolds says, “And just like that, the world was reminded that regular cycling stimulates and improves your heart, lungs, and circulation, regular cycling, reducing your risk of cardiovascular diseases.”
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Honestly, he’s not wrong. As SELF has previously reported, improved cardiovascular health is one of the core benefits you can get from a regular cycling habit. But what about high-intensity exercise specifically in people with a history of heart disease? The answer there is a little murkier. In a 2020 scientific statement by the American Heart Association (AHA) published in the journal Circulation, experts evaluated 300 studies that measured the effects of vigorous-to-high intensity exercise. Their findings suggest that, although physical activity is good for heart health overall, suddenly engaging in vigorous and high-intensity exercise may increase the relative risk of cardiovascular events in people who have heart disease—especially if those people are typically sedentary. But Mr. Big had been cleared by his doctor to take on such a regimen, and his heart attack happened after his 1,000th ride—so clearly hopping on the bike was a well-worn habit for him by that time. (Also, Carrie joked that he had a love affair with his Peloton trainer, which makes Peloton’s follow-up Twitter video particularly on the nose.)
The…big…takeaway is that, like many of us, it seems Mr. Big’s life involved a range of activities on the “healthy” spectrum. And that while Peloton may have appeared to be the culprit of his apparent death, any type of exercise—cycling or otherwise—is overall a great activity for heart health, especially when ramped up over time (and in consultation with a doctor when needed). After his many years of romantic hijinks, none of us would be surprised if Mr. Big actually faked his death to abscond with his Peloton instructor, yet again leaving Carrie to pick up the pieces on her own.
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