Heart Attack Grill spokesman dies of a heart attack

By Deborah Kotz, Globe Staff

Nearly two years ago, I wrote about a heart attack theme restaurant in Las Vegas -- yes, that city has everything -- and wondered whether it was a health hazard after its 575-pound unofficial spokesperson died at age 29 of pneumonia, likely complicated by his extreme obesity. Well, now a second unofficial spokesman of Heart Attack Grill has died -- of a heart attack.

John Alleman, age 52, inherited a genetic predisposition for heart problems, with both of his parents dying of heart attacks in their 50s, according to the Las Vegas Sun. He suffered a massive heart attack at a bus stop, and it’s impossible to know whether his love of the Grill -- he ate there everyday -- did him in.

The restaurant’s Quadruple Bypass Burger weighs in at 9,982 calories and contains 3 pounds of ground beef. You can also get French fries deep fried in lard.

At least two other restaurant patrons have developed acute heart symptoms while dining at the Heart Attack Grill, including a man who developed chest pain eating a Triple Bypass Burger, and a woman who went to get her heart examined after eating a Double Bypass Burger.

(Unfortunately, those waiters dressed like emergency physicians can’t actually jump-start hearts with their pretend defibrillators.)

It’s not known whether these customers had a blocked artery and, if so, whether it was related to their meal, but research has shown that high-fat meals can trigger heart attacks in susceptible individuals.

I’d like to know what you think of this restaurant. Should the proprietors open one in Boston or shutter the one they have in Vegas? Is it a health hazard? Here’s a look at those artery-clogging burgers.