NEW YORK, June 16, 2008
Could Russert's Death Have Been Prevented?
Tim Russert Recently Passed A Stress Test, But It Couldn't Predict His Heart Attack
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Play CBS Video Video Demystifying Heart Disease Heart disease can strike at any time, leading to sudden and unexpected death. Dr. Jon LaPook talks about what people can do to lower their risk of succumbing to this untimely fate.
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(AP / CBS)
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Photo Essay Tim Russert, 1950-2008 Longtime NBC political journalist and host of "Meet The Press" dies of heart attack at 58.
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Interactive Heart Disease Learn more about different types of heart disease, explore different treatments and assess your own risk.
During a stress test, a patient exercises to raise their heart rate. They flunk when a clogged artery prevents adequate blood flow from reaching the heart muscle. But it takes a large blockage to do that, CBS News medical correspondent Dr. Jon LaPook reports.
"But the risk of heart attack actually relates to smaller blockages that don't limit blood flow but are at risk for breaking open and having a blood clot suddenly block off the artery, as was the case here for Tim Russert," said Dr. Christopher Cannon.
In Russert's case, cholesterol built up in the linings of his arteries - not enough to affect the stress test, but enough to leave a fatty deposit that eventually burst, causing a clot that blocked the artery. About 850 Americans each day die from this condition, many without even making it to the ER. That comes to over 300,000 a year.
Clearly, a normal stress test doesn't mean you won't have a heart attack. So why do it at all?
"Well, stress tests are important to look if someone has significant limitations of blood flow to heart - if they do, then they need angiography, stenting or bypass surgery," Cannon said.
But it's not all about finding blockages after they've occurred. It's about preventing them from occurring in the first place. That's why it's key to lower risk factors such as:
"These risk factors are real; it's not just something that we talk about. And controlling them can also help prevent heart attacks," Cannon said.
... And help prevent sudden death.
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- Prescription drugs rush his dismise, it is not surprising his Doctors have not come forward and listed the drugs he was taking at the time of his death.
- Reply to this comment
- I am sorry for the loss to Mr. Russerts family. Even so, Tim Russert always appeared very anti-Senator Clinton to me. It is hard to forget the sexist remarks he made.
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- oktexchic:
Ever wonder why and how the current cholesterol levels were established. They were quite simply adjusted downwards by edict in response to complaints by the white coats conducting trials for statin efficacy some thirty years ago because they couldn''''t find enough people over the age of 50 with levels over 240 mg/dl (6.2 mmol/l), the then norm for that age bracket, to sufficiently power their trial studies. So the medical cartel to the glee of Big Pharma arbitrarily, by fiat, declared that 200 should be the norm for everybody. Of course this resulted in providing participants galore for cholesterol studies and statin therapy for practically the whole of the nation. And we have been stuck with these artificial levels ever since with the alarming result that our drinking water is now laced with it. The cholesterol hypothesis is the mother of all scams for cholesterol at any level is not a cause of heart disease.........http://tinyurl.com/2nylp
n - Reply to this comment
- The factors to reduce heart disease is parroted in this news piece.
These are about the same steps advocated %u201Cad nauseum%u201D by the major doctors, and health officials.
In the meantime, the U.S. has dropped to around 70th in the world as far as health.
The major item affecting everyone%u2019s health is diet, anyone not paid by the drug companies or part of the official %u201Chealth care%u201D system knows this.
One of the biggest reasons is very aptly stated by George Mann, MD, former Professor of Medicine and Biochemistry at Vanderbilt University and a heart researcher: %u201CThe diet-heart idea (the idea that saturated fats and cholesterol cause heart disease) is the greatest scientific deception of our times.%u201D
Our nutritionists and medical practitioners have gone down the wrong path with the drug companies by focusing on dietary fat as the major culprit in heart disease. This idea leads directly to the early death of not only Tim Russert, but thousands of people each year.
Why not cover true pioneers in the area of nutrition like the Weston Price foundation?
Why not cover Gary Taubes who wrote %u201CGood Calories, Bad Calories%u201D, documenting the true reason for high levels of chronic disease and death in industrial societies?
It%u2019s our food, stupid!
John O''Donnell - Reply to this comment
- Posted by mspapillion at 12:11 AM
Did you ever hear of the concept of "working" and actually "earning" your money? This is an illegal scheme called pyramiding. Too bad you just posted your email address and that of others involved in this scheme. Whoops for you!
Why don''t you go write a book on how to get rich quick without working and maybe some idiots will buy it!?! - Reply to this comment
- No, his death could not have been prevented. The man just knew too much.
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- Now if the rest of the media would die it would indeed be a good day
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"Could Russert''s Death Have Been Prevented?"
Can the ocean keep from rushing to the shore?
Can a baby not cry?
Can a fish not swim?
Can-can?- Reply to this comment
- I always admired Tim Russert because he nailed all of the big wigs to the wall. He did his research and had his sources ready to go. And while in all likely hood, Tim Russert did die of a heart attack, I have to wonder who was coming up to be interviewed by him. With all of the dirt coming out in behind the scenes politics, this little voice inside of me has me wondering if his death was really natural. Maybe I''m just paranoid, but he and his family had just returned from Italy and who really knows what he was working on? Tim Russert didn''t mind putting the cards on the table and exposing the truth. Could there have been someone that didn''t want to be exposed on National television? Either way, I hope Mr. Russert will rest in peace. Condolences to his family. Now who is going to drill these dirty politicians and keep them in line? Tim, we will miss you.
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One day you report the news,
the next day you are the news.
Who new he''d be the new news
or even yesterday''s news?- Reply to this comment
- This guy had stress? Posted by rushlimpdrug
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They are not speaking here of mental stress. - Reply to this comment
This guy had stress?
First they report he loved what he did.
Then they mention stress.
I think they should start asking the
hard questions about his death.
1. What was in his pockets?
2. Did he have a snack?
3. Has anyone looked into his tax returns?
4. Does a "reporters" age affect his work
to the point he can''t handle the stress (truth)?
5. What do the next four years hold for the
next host?
Someone pleeeze ask the hard questions.
I am getting stressed out asking them
all by myself.
Think I''ll have a donut now.- Reply to this comment
- I appreciate the news on this. Somewhat fighting the belly fat myself. This pushed me on to a diet!
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- I didn''t even know what the guys name was until he died. I had seen his face many times but I din''t realize what his name was. So, to the poster who said " he touched many of us." It doesn''t ring true to me.
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- could people stop talking about the guy?
This is the media celebrating itself.
Media people should not be celebrities making millions$ per year. They read the news and do interviews.
Mourn his death like any other good worker and leave at that. - Reply to this comment
- I liked Tim and God rest his soul. However these network and cable tv people seem addicted to their jobs. Their life experience must be so narrow which begs the question-Are these the people who should be interpreting life''s events for us?. I mean what more has Tom Brokaw got to tell us that we do''nt know from him already?. He keeps showing up all the time even though he''s supposed to be retired. Tim Russert was constantly popping up on Today, NBC Nightly News MSNBC as well as his day job on Meet the Press. How can you have a life and any kind of decent health when you''re addicted to this kind of work. The world will still go on without Tim God Rest his soul. He will be forgotten next week.
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- Stress tests are tough on the somewhat inactive/older person...it might have pushed the ball rolling toward that fatal attack.
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- May this man rest in peace. I''m geussing the guilt from mouthing the party line, or lies, as I''m sure he knew full well of, contributed to the stress he was carrying.
It must be tough to be in the media these days with the shots being called by the controllers at the top preventing "real truth" from reaching Americans, instead of the actual investigative reporter himself being able to talk truth.
I guess that''s why we haven''t seen the news of the 35 impeachment charges Congressman Dennis Kucinich has tried to introduce plastered all over the news. - Reply to this comment
- Here''s a little excerpt from the Weston A Price site about cholesterol studies- kinda interesting:
The problem with the 40 years of NHLBI-sponsored research on lipids, cholesterol and heart disease was that it had not produced many answers%u2014at least not many answers that the NHLBI was pleased with. The ongoing Framingham Study found that there was virtually no difference in coronary heart disease "events" for individuals with cholesterol levels between 205 mg/dL and 294 mg/dL%u2014the vast majority of the US population. Even for those with extremely high cholesterol levels%u2014up to almost 1200 mg/dL, the difference in CHD events compared to those in the normal range was trivial.29 This did not prevent Dr. William Kannel, then Framingham Study Director, from making claims about the Framingham results. "Total plasma cholesterol" he said, "is a powerful predictor of death related to CHD." It wasn''t until more than a decade later that the real findings at Framingham were published%u2014without fanfare%u2014in the Archives of Internal Medicine, an obscure journal. "In Framingham, Massachusetts," admitted Dr. William Castelli, Kannel''s successor "the more saturated fat one ate, the more cholesterol one ate, the more calories one ate, the lower people''s serum cholesterol. . . we found that the people who ate the most cholesterol, ate the most saturated fat, ate the most calories weighed the least and were the most physically active - Reply to this comment
- Could Russert''s Death Have Been Prevented?
If he had done his job and asked tough questions about 9/11 instead of being a 9/11 gate keeper.
If he had asked the tough questions he would''ve gotten fired and he could''ve walked away from the BS job he had he''d still be alive.
Dan Rather is. - Reply to this comment
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