Tim Russert Doctor Explains What He Thinks Happened

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.