Russert's Death Grim Reminder of Heart Risks

Sudden cardiac incidents difficult to prevent, survive
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 14, 2008 12:10 PM CDT
Russert's Death Grim Reminder of Heart Risks
Tim Russert waves during the Democratic Presidential Candidates Debate at the Cashman Center in Las Vegas, Nevada in this Jan. 15, 2008 file photo.   (AP Photo/NBC, Paul Drinkwater)

The heart attack that claimed Tim Russert’s life yesterday was a textbook example of a one of modern medicine's blind spots. Roughly 300,000 Americans die of unexpected, out-of-hospital cardiac arrest each year, the Wall Street Journal reports. Doctors can predict the likelihood of an incident happening in the next 10 years, but they can’t tell if a patient is in imminent danger.  

Russert knew he was at risk, and was undergoing treatment. As recently as April, he had a positive exercise stress test, but that means little, one cardiologist said: “You can still have plaque and be at risk.” It’s unclear if Russert was taking cholesterol-lowering statins, but even those aren’t reliable, the cardiologist said. “We have to look for other means.” (More Tim Russert stories.)

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