Profiles in Heart Disease: Tim Russert

(LifeWire) - Popular political journalist Tim Russert had several established risk factors for heart attack, including excess weight and hardening of the arteries, but his sudden death at age 58, proved stunning not only to the public, but even to Russert's doctor.

The congenial TV anchor host of "Meet the Press," handily passed a cardiac stress test just six weeks before he died, and his cholesterol, blood pressure and weight -- while all elevated -- were being managed with medication, exercise and diet.

Russert had even worked out on a treadmill the morning of his death on June 13, 2008.

Still, he collapsed at NBC network studios in Washington, D.C., while preparing for his show and could not be revived despite immediate resuscitation efforts that included shocking his heart with an automatic external defibrillator. He was later pronounced dead at a hospital without ever regaining consciousness.

Michael Newman, Russert's personal physician, described the robust newsman as a "model patient" to CNN's Larry King in an interview several days after Russert's death.

"He complied with almost everything that was asked of him," Newman said.

Russert was one of 310,000 Americans to die each year of sudden cardiac arrest, a situation that can be prompted by a heart attack as well as other heart problems. In Russert's case, an autopsy revealed an enlarged heart and confirmed a heart attack. Russert's death was due to a ruptured plaque that blocked his left anterior descending artery. That, in turn, created a fatal arrhythmia that left Russert's heart quivering instead of properly distributing blood to his brain and other organs.

Of the 860,000 heart attacks that occur in the United States each year, about 157,000 prove fatal. In addition to Russert's other risk factors for cardiac disease, his status as a 58-year-old male put him squarely in another risk group: The average age for experiencing sudden cardiac death is between 58 and 62 for men. In about 30% of such deaths, death is the first sign that something is amiss.

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