At the Tim Russesrt memorial service in Washington, D.C., the song Somewhere Over the Rainbow was played, and then appearing in the sky was an unusual rainbow in the sky. Tim was watching.

Maureen Orth, Tim’s widow, talked about the day in Italy when Tim was about to leave his wife and son to return to Washington, D.C., so he could tape that Sunday’s Meet the Press, she turned to him and said:

"I said to him, ’I want to give you a hug, maybe I’ll never see you again.’ I don’t know why I said that to him. I just had a feeling."

On the morning of the day he died, Maureen recalled, Russert took a chunk of time off from work to go to his son’s new apartment in D.C. and wait for the cable man. "He could have hired someone to do it, but that wasn’t Tim."

Tom Brokaw said about Tim:

"Family and faith, were the foundations of his life."

Rest in peace Tim Russert.

Luke Russert, the son of Tim Russert, appeared on the Today Show talking about what a loving father his dad was. Matt Lauer spent a lot of time talking about how much Tim loved his son. Tim was loved by colleagues, and his family. He was much more than we saw on television.

The doctor for Tim Russert explains that Tim knew he had coronary artery disease, and says that at the time of his death his cholesterol level was "optimal." That may be true, but it is the years prior to the cholesterol, and other lipoproteins in the blood becoming optimal, that plague can build up in the artery walls, and then break free later in life, or cause a clot to form, which happened to Tim. The earlier you correct the problem, the less likely a stroke or heart attack are. If you are in you are someone who can’t lose the extra pounds of weight you should get a lipid profile done, especially by the time you reach your late 30s.

Tim had the extra weight, which means his problem in his blood chemistry was not fully resolved. I have another site coming later that will explain much of these issues, and how to deal with them, without medication, or in addition to medication if you’ve let it go for years already.

Tim’s doctor mentioned one critical point. On the autopsy Tim had a clot in the left anterior descending artery (LAD), which is nick named the widow maker, because it supplies oxygenated blood to the left heart ventricle which pumps 75% of the blood to your body. After performing a 12 lead EKG on Tim, which is routinely done with chest pain, the doctor would have known Tim was having an anterior myocardial infarction. This is a heart attack that affects the left ventricle. The doctor should have given Tim a drug called Tissue Plasminogen Activator (tPA), which would have dissolved the clot. tPA is not a blood thinner, it actually dissolves clots, rather than prevent them. Tim’s life might have been saved. During Tim’s recovery, and even during his heart attack, they should have also given him an IV with magnesium sulfate to decrease the irritability of the heart muscle, so it could continue to pump blood more effectively despite the clot cutting off oxygenated blood to the left ventricle.

It was odd that Tim’s doctor said it could have been a pulmonary embolus, because of his flight to Italy, when he also mentioned they actually found the clot in Tim’s LAD on the autopsy. A pulmonary embolus is a blockage of the pulmonary artery by a clot, plaque, or even fat. An embolus is most often a clot. Once a person dies, clots dissolve, which is why it is so hard to determine if a heart attack killed someone, unless it lasted long enough to kill the heart muscle, which can be seen on an autopsy. Since it was confirmed that Tim had a clot in his LAD, it seems odd that his doctor would mention a pulmonary emoblism, which would affect Tim’s lungs. Tim also did not have sudden cardiac death, because that is caused by a lethal heart arrhythmia that is purely an electrical anomaly, whereas in Tim’s case his lethal heart arrhythmia was caused by a heart attack.

The doctor, in my opinion, is guilty of malpractice. Tim’s death might have been saved, but his emergency situation sounds like it was mismanaged. If Tim had been given tPA he might have lived. He can be given tPA twice in 24 hours if the clot reformed. They should have given it to him. What else did they have to lose, except Tim’s life? If the family for Russert reads this article, they should file a wrongful death lawsuit. Too many people die each year from these types of common, but unnecessary, mistakes.

Tom Brokaw, who had obvioulsy shed some tears himself, announced that Tim Russert passed away yesterday. Tim always seemed very professional, and like he was just a really nice guy, which is why I actually watched Meet the Press sometimes.

Tim Russert died from a heart attack at the age of 58, according to a New York Times report, who cite a family member as the source.

Russert, who was the host of Meet the Press, is survived by his wife Maureen Orth, who is a special correspondent for Vanity Fair, and their adult son, Luke.

Too much work sitting at a desk, lack of exercise, and not eating properly was likely a big contributing factor. As sad as Russert’s death is, this is just another reminder of the importance of a proper diet and exercise to live a longer life that is healthier.