Could A Simple Test Have PredictedTim Russert’s Heart Attack?
Last week, on June XX, 2008, Tim Russert died of a massive heart attack. Moderator of NBCs influential Meet the Press, he had seemed in perfect health, and had no apparant risk factors, a healthy individual who was a nonsmoker, exercised regularly, ate a healthy diet and drops dead of a heart attack. This story is repeated all too often. An athlete, business person, or young person dies unexpectedly of a heart attack. Just today it was comedian George Carlin. One cannot help but wonder if we ourselves might also be at risk. If heart attack cannot be predicted, how can anyone feel safe? One well-understood risk factor for heart disease is a diet high in cholesterol. Why is cholesterol important? The heart is the organ that pumps blood throughout the body through blood vessels, and these blood vessels can become clogged with fatty deposits that slow and sometimes stop the flow of blood. The photos show two blood vessels. On the left is a healthy cornary artery, a major vessel carrying bl
