Tim Russert, RIP

Wow, we're all in shock. 58 years young - such a waste. What will the presidential campaign be without him? Unimaginable. And who can replace him on Meet the Press? Unthinkable.


ADDENDUM

Completely by accident I watched the Tim Russert memorial service on MSNBC Wednesday night. This link has a brief story with some highlights, and you can watch the complete service online [long time friends Mike Barnicle and Maria Shriver were especially great].

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25243616/

WHAT HAPPENED?

I'd been wondering about his heart attack. Here's a good article about how an asymptomatic person can die suddenly:

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gZ2X1rMBjb9Zv3gHJS4DMwbflZ1gD91CM0H00
[ . . . ]
About 920,000 Americans have a heart attack each year and 38 percent are fatal, according to the American Heart Association. Half of men and 64 percent of women who die suddenly of heart disease have no previous symptoms.

Despite impressive advances in preventing and treating heart disease, experts say there's no easy way to know which patients are going to have a heart attack and which aren't. Most heart attacks occur when fatty deposits in the arteries rupture and a clot forms.

The goal of preventive measures is to stabilize the plaque and prevent a rupture, or to prevent a dangerous clot from developing if the plaque does burst open.

Steinbaum said patients have difficulty understanding how someone can have a normal stress test like Russert, and then have a heart attack later. She said Russert apparently didn't have enough blockage when he had a stress test in April to indicate any problems. The test shows how the heart reacts to exertion and whether there's adequate blood flow to the heart. "A stress test is important for us to assess how well the heart is functioning, but it doesn't give you a bye." said Steinbaum.

Not all heart attacks result in the heart suddenly stopping, as in Russert's case. Dr. Paul Wang of Stanford School of Medicine said only a small percentage lead to cardiac arrest, and it's not clear why, although the size of the heart attack can be a factor.

"This is far from uncommon though, unfortunately," he said. "There's still a substantial number of people who do have cardiac arrest," after a heart attack.

Few people survive a sudden cardiac arrest; a prompt shock from a defibrillator is needed to restore a normal heartbeat. Wang said the Russert case highlights the need for workplaces to prepare for a cardiac arrest, just as they plan for fire drills.

But not everyone can be saved. Russert's doctor said on CNN that efforts to revive him began immediately and paramedics shocked his heart three times before reaching the hospital.