Pet Forum

Tim Russert died today from a heart attack. I was looking into the cause of Tim Russert's death and I kept seeing these terms: coronary embolism, coronary thrombosis, and asymptomatic coronary artery disease. Apparently Tim Russert was suffering from these, but what are they? That's what I wanted to get an answer to, so here is what I found and want to share with you all:

Coronary embolism- Russert is suspected of having a coronary embolism, a blood vessel obstructed by a clot that sparked this fatal, irregular heart rhythm. This is the most common cause of sudden cardiac death for middle aged men and women. But a final diagnosis won’t be possible until autopsy results come in. Coronaryembolism is considered to be rare but recent evidence suggests that it may be underdiagnosed, and implicated in acute myocardial infarction associated with angio graphically normal coronary arteries.

Coronary thrombosis- Russert’s physician, Michael Newman, said cholesterol plaque ruptured in an artery, causing sudden coronary thrombosis. Coronary thrombosis is a condition where the blood flow to the heart is blocked by a clot in a coronary artery.

Asymptomatic coronary artery disease- Tim Russert's personal physician announced on MSNBC Friday night that an autopsy had been conducted and it was determined that the affable 58-year-old journalist had passed away due a heart attack resulting from asymptomatic coronary artery disease.

My grandpa also passed away from a heart attack. A lot of people have in my family actually. Pretty scary.

Does anyone know if Russert had been diagnosed with a heart disease before this happened, or did it surprise everyone?