Tim Russert Dead of a Heart Attack, His Family Says

(Update Below in the CODA, re cause of death. An autopsy has been performed.) Tim Russert, died of an apparent heart attack at age 58. He passed away at his office. Author of Big Russ and Me, about his one of a kind father, Russert also has a son Luke, who just graduated from Boston College this week. His son hosts the XM radio show 60/20 Sports with James Carville.

Tim Russert was a lawyer, and a journalist who inherited the hosting of Meet the Press from the venerably David Brinkley. Mr. Russert was also Washington Bureau Chief for NBC news. He rose through the ranks beginning with being a counsel in New York Governor Mario Cuomo’s office, then took the position of cheif of staff to Democratic Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan from 1977 to 1982. In 1984 he was hired by NBC and in the 2000 national elections became somewhat known as an oracle, when he created a whiteboard calculating electoral votes and putting pretty clear bets on who would win based on garnering votes in normally overlooked states.

There has been much speculation in newspapers and blogs that Russert was good for booking interviews for VicePresident Cheney and others when they had a message to get out, and that he was also booking Democrats as well… but seemed to be tilting to whichever side was most in power in the moment. My personal opinion is it may have seemed that way, but Meet the Press was designed to be ‘an equal opportunity venue’ for many kinds of political voices.

Mr Russert was a frequent pundit in the most recent 2008 runs between Senators Clinton and Obama giving opinions that often took on the timber of sportscasting… for following college teams was one of his great loves in life

Mr. Russert’s wife is connected with Vanity Fair magazine. Maureen Orth, has been a special correspondent there since 1983.

One question will be who will replace Mr. Russert who has been a major doorway for pr flacks trying to position their clients before the television viewing American public. And how will this throw NBC into either a fast reprise or a creative slump?

One of the best things NBC could do in memoriam to Mr. Russert perhaps, would be to have his successor be as bright, as ‘guy-like’ accessible, as intelligent as Mr. Russert. That seems like it would be no small feat

On a personal level, is hard to see, this close to Father’s Day, a son losing his dad. I’d join with many others in being glad that Mr. Russert lived to see his boy graduate from college and be successful in his own right. He must have been so proud.

Condolences go out to Mr. Russert’s family, and also to the deep journalism community, where many who have known Tim for years, will be shaken and in mourning for ‘a guy,’ a real friend, ‘a journalist’s journalist’ who trailblazed for them too. Timothy J. Russert, with the angels now.
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CODA
Dr. Neuman, Mr. Russert’s personal doctor has come on air tonight, telling about what Tim died from. Cardiac arrest. An autopsy has been performed. The doctor explained that Tim had advanced coronary artery disease, that gave him no overt symptoms (asymptomatic). The doctor said that Tim exercised on his treadmill daily, tried to control the snacks in his diet (people who work hard are often known for catching fast food and sugar/caffeine to keep going), and had taken a heart-stress test just a few weeks ago, which he passed with flying colors, and that Tim was proud of that.

Tim’s weight was an issue, he’d put a lot on, and some of his colleagues mentioned it to him recently and said they’d go on a food program with him, and they put in rewards for weight loss. But, they didn’t know he had asymptomatic coronary artery disease. His doctor said that Tim often said he was going to ‘get to it Doc… tomorrow I’ll start.’ The doc said Tim was like a lot of us who struggle with weight… up, down, up, down. Anyone who’s ever struggled with weight, knows it’s the battle that is fought everyday.

The autopsy revealed that Tim had a greatly enlarged heart, with fresh clots in the arteries there. The doc said in cardiac arrest, first comes a rupture of plaque from the side of an artery This causes a thrombosis, which causes a heart attack. The heart attack causes an arrhythmia, which then causes cardiac arrest. The heart just suddenly stops. The docs at hospital ER said they tried everything to try to keep Tim here, but to no avail. As we all now know, Tim sadly went and stayed flat line.

There were stresses in his life: Certainly his non-stop work during this wild and hectic campaign year. Last night he’d just returned from Italy, long air flights and deep vein thrombosis are a real concern there. Also, Little Russ had placed Big Russ, his father, in assisted living ten days ago. Tim’s son had also graduated from college last week. Much changing of the guard; several watershed endings to certain eras in the family

Evanescence of life is such a strange alchemy, the timing of which none of us, not even docs can predict with utter accuracy. Another reason to write on the wall every day: Live fully. Too, one more good reason to drag ourselves or our stubborn loved ones to docs who have excellent diagnostic skills, ‘just in case’ more info about the state of the body early rather than late, will help us to create a better and longer life.

Tim Russert may have died years earlier had he not known his condition, had he not put into effect as much of his doctor’s advice as he could manage.