Lifesaving Lessons

He was 58. He had diabetes and coronary artery disease (CAD). But his CAD was under control with medications and he had no symptoms. He exercised and performed well on stress tests.

Yet on a Friday afternoon, while preparing for his Sunday broadcast of Meet The Press, Tim Russert's heart stopped beating. All efforts to resuscitate him failed. Less than an hour after he collapsed, on June 13, 2008, Tim Russert was pronounced dead. The cause? A blood clot resulting from a ruptured cholesterol plaque.

What could have been done to save him?

According to Russert's doctor, Michael Newman:

"He had done everything he was supposed to do to manage the disease [CAD], although his weight was a problem." ... He "struggled with it."

Dr. Newman added that the incident made us "appreciate the uncertainty of our lives."

Perhaps, as Dr. Newman said, attacks such as Mr. Russert's can't be anticipated. But once they present themselves, how a heart attack victim acts, or how those around him act, could save a life. Dr. Newman claims that a defibrillator could make a difference.

However, being sensitive to how you feel, and responding to it, can also make a difference.

The following story appeared in Tuesday's New York Times:

Not a Moment Too Soon, I Thought of Tim Russert

Its author, Michael Bicks, related a profile eerily similar to Mr. Russert's:

"Though I am a 50-year-old guy with a stressful job and a little too much around the middle, I had a clean bill of health. I had good cholesterol numbers and a great doctor, and recently I had passed a cardiac stress test."

During an early morning bike ride, Mr. Bicks began to feel nauseous and developed a cough. He had only mild chest discomfort, but expressed "an overwhelming feeling that something was not right." He stopped riding, took a rest, and decided to check himself into the hospital.

"A doctor attached some wires to my body and conducted a quick EKG. “Mr. Bicks,” he said minutes later, “you are suffering a heart attack.” "

Mr. Bicks may not have been able to anticipate his heart attack, but paying attention to the signals his body was giving, and acting on them, saved his life.
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