2008-06-14 02:21:22 -

- The Sudden Cardiac Arrest Association joins with the many others mourning the death of Tim Russert of NBC News. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family of which he was so proud.

Given Mr. Russert's drive for the truth and factual journalism, we encourage the news media to carefully report the facts of his death. While we

do not wish to second guess the medical experts, the descriptions of Mr. Russert's collapse clearly raise the strong possibility that this was a sudden cardiac arrest, rather than a heart attack as has been widely reported.

Sudden cardiac arrest is sudden and immediate loss of heart function as the result of an electrical malfunction. While it is often confused with a heart attack, its physiological symptoms and medical treatment are quite different.

For more information, please visit our website at www.suddencardiacarrest.org and access our Medical Updates page.

The Sudden Cardiac Arrest Association
Chris Chiames, 202-719-8910
Executive Director
cchiames@suddencardiacarrest.org