Tim Russert Dead

[Johnny_Blaze_47]

My company is sending out alerts that Tim Russert is dead.

[1369]

Nothing on CNN.com, but the wiki says he passed while recording a production track.

[Johnny_Blaze_47]

AP-Obit-Russert URGENT



WASHINGTON (AP) -- Family members say NBC's Tim Russert has died. They tell The New York Times that Russert died of an apparent heart attack.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

APTV-06-13-08 1437CDT

[remingtonbo2001]

It's just been reported on Fox News.

My prayers go out to his family.

[robino2001]

I just saw him on the today show a few mornings ago and was thinking it's only months until that night where he's scratching away on the whiteboard with the magic marker updating numbers by the minute... would have never seen this one coming

[mrsmaalox]

Wow; he kinda looked like a walking timebomb. Very sad.

[balli]

That sucks. Big loss for America.

[Johnny_Blaze_47]

http://www.KSAT.com/tu/5yykZ4gVq.html

Family Says Tim Russert Dead Of Heart Attack

POSTED: 1:57 pm CDT June 13, 2008

Tim Russert, host of NBC's "Meet the Press" and a political analyst for "NBC Nightly News" and the "Today" program, has died of a heart attack, The New York Times reported Friday, citing family members.

Russert, 58, joined NBC News in 1984. He took over the helm of "Meet the Press" in December 1991, according to his biography on the show's Web site. Russert has interviewed every major figure on the American political scene, his biography said.

Earlier this year, Time magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world.

Russert was born in Buffalo, N.Y., on May 7, 1950. He is a graduate of John Carroll University and also graduated with honors from the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, his biography said.

Russert is survived by his wife, Maureen Orth, a writer for Vanity Fair magazine, and his son, Luke.

Distributed by Internet Broadcasting. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

[AlamoSpursFan]

Just heard Brokaw announce it on NBC.

This sucks. I enjoyed his work.

R.I.P.

[FromWayDowntown]

Terribly sad news.

[JoeChalupa]

R.I.P. I've watched Meet the Press as often as I can because of Tim Russert. I'm sure he has some good questions ready.

[balli]

I really don't want to watch Chris Matthews on Meet the Press .

[Sunshine]

Wow. Sad....not one I would have "expected" to hear about.

[degenerate_gambler]

One of the very few talking heads that I cared to listen to.

[AlamoSpursFan]

He let both sides of the aisle have it equally.

Rare in today's drive-by media.

[Viva Las Espuelas]

i bet hilary was behind it.

[Kermit]

I really don't want to watch Chris Matthews on Meet the Press .

:lol

You're never going to have to worry about that.

[RandomGuy]

R.I.P. I've watched Meet the Press as often as I can because of Tim Russert. I'm sure he has some good questions ready.

Damn. He was one of the best.

Tough, but fair. He had a knack for cutting through the crap.

[KEDA]

Damn

My prayers to his family.

[samikeyp]

:depressed

I was looking forward to election night primarily because of him.

RIP

[Humble Billy Hayes]

Stay hard, Tim!

[ashbeeigh]

Tim Russert, host of NBC's Meet the Press, died of an apparent heart attack today. He was 58.

The New York Post reports that Russert collapsed at NBC's Washington news bureau

Russert, of Buffalo, N.Y., took the helm of the Sunday news show in December 1991 and turned it into the most widely watched program of its type in the nation. His signature trait there was an unrelenting style of questioning, sparing none of the politicians, business giants and even sports figures who appeared on his show.
Washingtonian magazine once dubbed Russert the best journalist in town, and described "Meet the Press" as "the most interesting and important hour on television.

He also wrote best-selling books, "Big Russ and Me," in 2004, and "Wisdom of our Fathers," in 2006.

This year, Time magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world.

Longtime NBC anchor Tom Brokaw confirmed Russert's death, in a special report on NBC.
Brokaw says Russert's death came during a political campaign that "he loved."

NBC broke into its coverage of the U.S. Open to announce the news and MSNBC suspended regular programming for a report by anchor Brian Williams in Afghanistan and Andrea Mitchell, reporting from NBC's offices in Washington.

"He was always about fairness," Williams told viewers.

"The news division will not be the same without his strong, clear voice," Brokaw said in announcing Russert's death.

The New York Post reported that Russert rose from the inside world of politics, where he had been former New York Gov. Mario Cuomo's press secretary and a chief of staff to the late Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan.


http://www.startribune.com/19908009.html?location_refer=Homepage:highlightMod ules:1

[Marcus Bryant]

Tim Russert was one political show host who never made you think you were watching a video presentation of SpursTalk.com's Political Forum.

[JoeChalupa]

I highly recommend “Wisdom of Our Fathers” to everyone especially on this Father's Day weekend. It is a great read. :tu

[JoeChalupa]

The Political Forum rocks baby!!!!

[Marcus Bryant]

The Political Forum rocks baby!!!!

No, it's abysmal.

[G-Nob]

Does this complete the trifecta or does this begin a new one?

[T Park]

RIP

One of the last few good journalists left.

Shame.

[PEP]

RIP

One of the last few good journalists left.

Shame.
RIP, one of the few balanced journalists left. Where was Hillary, I think Russert was on her list.

[1Parker1]

My dad called and told me about this. He was a religious follower of Meet the Press and watched it every Sunday.

:(

[spurschick]

This sucks. I couldn't believe it when I heard the news earlier. I started every Sunday with Meet the Press. He was absolutely one of my favorite news anchors and I will miss him terribly. :depressed

[florige]

My dad called and told me about this. He was a religious follower of Meet the Press and watched it every Sunday.

:(



Meet the Press just isn't going to be the same without him.
And to think he died during this historic election. I was so looking forward to him moderating the McCain-Obama debate, as I know he was too.

[florige]

:depressed

I was looking forward to election night primarily because of him.

RIP

I hear you dude. He always madethose numbers simple to understand for idiots like me. If I didn;t understand something, after listening to him I fully understood what was going on afterwards.

[T Park]

Meet the Press just isn't going to be the same without him.
And to think he died during this historic election. I was so looking forward to him moderating the McCain-Obama debate, as I know he was too.

Yeah I was looking forward to him calling both of them onto the carpet.

Now the last balanced journalist is gone.

[boutons_]

"moderating the McCain-Obama debate"

Tim and Stephanopoulus really blew the Obama/Clinton thing, total bullshitty, irrelevant topics for the first hour. Must have been one of Tim's worst ever, most regretted shows.

[spurschick]

First Jim McKay, now this... if John Saunders or Tom Brokaw dies, I'm going to freakin' lose it.

[Kermit]

"moderating the McCain-Obama debate"

Tim and Stephanopoulus really blew the Obama/Clinton thing, total bullshitty, irrelevant topics for the first hour. Must have been one of Tim's worst ever, most regretted shows.

:rollin

Russert wasn't anywhere near that debate. It was Charlie Gibson and George Stephanopoulos.

[manufor3]

wow, also right before Father's Day. Did you see his last ever words on his last show- "Happy Father's Day Dad, and Luke, I'm glad to be your Dad."

[Anti.Hero]

boutons should mod the next debates imo

[Don Quixote]

Or Keith Olbermann. Same thing.

[TDMVPDPOY]

sad news indeed....

i also watch the meet the press, usually re-runs down here in australia, but it was good to know whats going in america as its a very informative show....

he looks very fit to have this happen to him...

[florige]

Sunday was the first time ever I saw Tom Brokaw nearly lose it on the air. That was an emotional Meet the Press Sunday.

[boutons_]

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/misc/logoprinter.gif (http://www.nytimes.com/)
http://graphics8.nytimes.com/ads/spacer.gifhttp://graphics8.nytimes.com/ads/fox/printerfriendly.gifhttp://graphics8.nytimes.com/ads/choke/choke_88x31.gif (http://www.nytimes.com/adx/bin/adx_click.html?type=goto&page=www.nytimes.com/printer-friendly&pos=Position1&sn2=336c557e/4f3dd5d2&sn1=baf13917/82cb53fa&camp=foxsearch2008_emailtools_810904d-nyt5&ad=choke88x31&goto=http://www.foxsearchlight.com/choke/)

June 17, 2008

A Search for Answers in Russert’s Death
By DENISE GRADY (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/g/denise_grady/index.html?inline=nyt-per)

Given the great strides that have been made in preventing and treating heart disease, what explains Tim Russert (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/r/tim_russert/index.html?inline=nyt-per)’s sudden death last week at 58 from a heart attack (http://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/disease/heart-attack/overview.html?inline=nyt-classifier)?

The answer, at least in part, is that although doctors knew that Mr. Russert, the longtime moderator of “Meet the Press” on NBC, had coronary artery disease and were treating him for it, they did not realize how severe the disease was because he did not have chest pain (http://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/symptoms/chest-pain/overview.html?inline=nyt-classifier) or other telltale symptoms that would have justified the kind of invasive tests needed to make a definitive diagnosis. In that sense, his case was sadly typical: more than 50 percent of all men who die of coronary heart disease (http://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/disease/coronary-heart-disease/overview.html?inline=nyt-classifier) have no previous symptoms, the American Heart Association (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/a/american_heart_association/index.html?inline=nyt-org) says.

It is not clear whether Mr. Russert’s death could have been prevented. He was doing nearly all he could to lower his risk. He took blood pressure (http://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/test/blood-pressure/overview.html?inline=nyt-classifier) pills and a statin drug to control his cholesterol (http://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/nutrition/cholesterol/overview.html?inline=nyt-classifier), he worked out every day on an exercise bike, and he was trying to lose weight, his doctors said on Monday. And still it was not enough.

( "trying to lose weight" isn't enough. He totally failed to lose weight. Note there is no mention of bad nutrtion, which killed him. )

If there is any lesson in his death, his doctors said, it is a reminder that heart disease can be silent,

( there's another lesson: When your nutrition is bad and you are obese, pills and exercise are fatally insufficient )

and that people, especially those with known risk factors, should pay attention to diet (http://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/specialtopic/food-guide-pyramid/overview.html?inline=nyt-classifier), blood pressure, weight and exercise — even if they are feeling fine.

( diet! finally! :) The only mention.)

“If there’s one number that’s a predictor of mortality, it’s waist circumference,” said Dr. Michael A. Newman, Mr. Russert’s internist.

But, Dr. Newman added, most people would rather focus on their LDL cholesterol, instead of taking measures to reduce their waist size. Studies have found a waist of over 40 inches in men and 35 inches in women is a risk factor for heart disease.

( from some of the pics of Russert, sitting down, in a shirt, he had a huge tire around the middle. His waist probably hadn't seen 40 inches in many years )

Mr. Russert’s cholesterol was not high, and medicine controlled his high blood pressure (http://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/disease/hypertension/overview.html?inline=nyt-classifier) pretty well, Dr. Newman said. But, he added, Mr. Russert was “significantly overweight.” He also had a dangerous combination of other risk factors: high triglycerides (http://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/test/triglyceride-level/overview.html?inline=nyt-classifier), a type of fat in the blood, and a low level of HDL (http://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/test/hdl/overview.html?inline=nyt-classifier), the “good cholesterol” that can help the body get rid of the bad cholesterol that can damage arteries.

( all of which can be completely fixed by diet. Popping pills for cholesterol (itself widely disputed as having anything to do with anything) and for BP are not cures. You can't make yourself healthy with pills. They are simply money spinners for BigPharma )

Even so, Dr. Newman said, “the autopsy findings were a surprise.”
In an interview, Dr. Newman and Mr. Russert’s cardiologist, Dr. George Bren, said the autopsy found significant blockages in several coronary arteries, which feed blood to the heart muscle.

Blockages start out as cholesterol deposits in the artery walls that turn into lesions or plaques, narrowing the vessels. Heart attacks occur when a plaque ruptures, causing a blood clot that quickly closes the artery and pinches off the blood supply to part of the heart.

In Mr. Russert’s case, the heart attack was caused by a plaque rupture in a branch of the left anterior descending coronary artery. The heart attack led to an abnormal heart rhythm that stopped his heart from pumping blood effectively and caused his death.

“What is surprising,” Dr. Newman said, “is that the severity of the anatomical findings would not be predicted from his clinical situation, the absence of symptoms and his performing at a very high level of exercise.”
In 1998, Mr. Russert had a calcium (http://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/test/serum-calcium/overview.html?inline=nyt-classifier) score of 210 on a CT scan (http://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/test/ct-scan/overview.html?inline=nyt-classifier) of the coronary arteries, a test that indicates blockages. The result called for “an intensive cardioprotective regimen,” Dr. Newman said. That level can indicate a moderate to high risk of a heart attack.

Dr. Newman and Dr. Bren said that in the past year, Mr. Russert’s blood pressure had risen a bit, and that they had changed his drug regimen to lower it. His heart muscle had also thickened. Some cardiologists say a thickened or enlarged heart can indicate severe heart disease and should prompt more tests, like an angiogram (http://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/test/arteriogram/overview.html?inline=nyt-classifier), to look for artery blockages. But those tests are invasive, and Mr. Russert’s doctors did not think he needed them.

( ... more/different pills = no cure, so a dead Russert )

Had the tests been done and the true extent of blockages revealed, Dr. Newman said, Mr. Russert would probably have been advised to have bypass surgery. Dr. Bren differed, saying it was not clear that there was enough disease to prompt a recommendation for surgery.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/17/health/17russert.html?scp=3&sq=russert&st=nyt

========

so, so, so, the US medical system notches up another victim. A lot of money, which is the primary objective of the for-profit medical system, was made off Russert's CVD. The medical system needs to be more careful and aggressive in prolonging the life of their cash cows. Had he lived, they would have made a lot more money, eg $50K - $100K from bypass surgery and follow-up and a couple more decades of expensive BP and statins. Not to worry, their are millions more cash-cows like Russert.

Russert's death was self-inflicted by long-term, life-long?, bad nutrition.

Note that his apparently serious exercise and resulting fitness didn't prevent death without support from changing to healthy nutrition and loss of all excess weight.