A great journalist and a fine person, Tim Russert collapsed and died today while at work in NBC’s Washington bureau. He was 58.
Russert’s physician, Michael Newman, said cholesterol plaque ruptured in an artery, causing sudden coronary thrombosis.
According to NBC, Russert had earlier been diagnosed with asymptomatic coronary artery disease, but it was well-controlled with medication and exercise, and he had performed well on a stress test in late April, Newman said.
An autopsy revealed that he also had an enlarged heart, Newman said.
Washington bureau chief of NBC News and host of “Meet the Press,” Tim was a journalist loved by its audience and feared by politicians that respected him as a tough but fair TV reporter.
The Washington Post has this interesting video about how his faith helped him to cover politics.
Watch also this great confrontation with John McCain.
(Pictures by Elise Amendola and Charles Dharapak/AP)
