Cheney’s Shot Triggered Heart Attack
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Man shot by Cheney has heart attack
The 78-year-old lawyer who was shot by Vice President Dick Cheney in a hunting accident has some birdshot lodged in his heart and he had a “minor heart attack,” a hospital official said Tuesday.
Peter Banko, the hospital administrator at Christus Spohn Hospital Corpus Christi-Memorial, said Harry Whittington had the heart attack early Tuesday while being evaluated.
UPDATE: Commenter Big Gay Al gets a gold star for this.
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© 2000-2011 Oliver Willis
/partially kidding.
(You just never know with Bush/Cheney)
Thanks God Cheney could sense a heart attack coming on in this patient!
He might have died had he not been under the constant ministrations of the nurses and doctors while hospitalized!
The news headline “Cheney saves man’s life after potentially fatal heart attack…”
What a guy…..
Tomorrow’s wingnut talking points today!
Whittington was a whack job, depressed and schizo. This was a case of ‘suicide by Vice President’, you know, like suicide by cop.
I thought you libs were for assisted suicide. I guess that goes out the window when a Repbulican wants to die with dignity.
Anyway, by continuing to harp on this, the mainstream media is aiding Al-Qaeda. When they hear our leaders are not good shots, they become emboldened. They may not have shot at our soldiers before. But now, being reminded constantly that Americans are bad shots, they will. And the next soldier who dies will be on David Gregory.
“Yes curmudgeon, there is.”
Come on Pedro, don’t be so shy. Now’s the time to wow us with your medical knowledge! Give us all the technical details and could you please suggest, in detail, a course of treatment? Please, go on at length. Time to show off, dude. Let’s see it.
Is there really such a thing as a “minor” heart attack?
Thanks Dr. Willis….
Yes curmudgeon, there is.
Dude, you only need to have watched half an episode of E.R. to know that anything “lodged” in the heart is probably suspect #1 in the cause of a heart attack.
Big Gay Al: you win a gold star for comment of the week.
“Conservatives believe in bombing people who have done nothing to us. ”
hate to see the comment of the month, then.
Dugger
Except that Cheney’s birdshot triggered the attack.
I’m just curious to the motivation of one who would defend this.
I mean I understand defending a political policy. Conservatives believe in bombing people who have done nothing to us. Liberals don’t. It is a disagreement based on policy, on two different ways of looking at the world, and that lends a personal stake to the matter
But why defend this? Where is the policy disagreement? Where is the personal stake?
There are two explanations:
1) The Cult of Bush is so fragile that an admission of infallibility on the part of the second-in-command is unfathomable; or
2) Those who would defend/excuse/rationalize this are objectively pro-shooting 78 year olds in the face.
So, which is it?
To carry this one from the lower thread:
Scratch,
I interpret the description of Whittington s actions as an explanation of how the accident happened, not as an absolution of Cheney. I don t think any reasonable person thinks Cheney aimed at the man and pulled the trigger intending to hit him& so there must be some explanation for why he shot him, and this is it.
Well, I haven t heard anyone – other than in jest – suggest that Cheney intentionally shot the guy. The big uproar is over the secrecy, and delay surrounding the whole thing. I think you ll also agree with me when I say if Cheney s people just came out on Saturday or Sunday, held a press conference and announce the accident& it would most likely NOT be the story it is today.
Unless of course, he had other reasons for obsfucating the matter. He is known around the Hill as a drinker, he s also got two DUI s on his record. So&
The other thing about this story that bothers people on my side of the aisle is that fact that the WH seems eager to blame the victim in an attempted cover-up of sorts.
The official line is that Whittington was 30 yards (90ft.) away from Cheney when he was shot. Bullshit. Official reports also indicated that he s got over 200 shots in him, apparently some so deep as to engage the heart.
A shell for a 28 gauge has 300 pellets in it. The spread would have been too great at 90ft for Whittington to be hit by 200 pellets (in the head, neck and chest), and I highly doubt any would have gone that deep.
It s obvious the WH is lying on Cheney s behalf& which, again, just seems par for the course. Which should upset *all* reasonable people of any political persuasion.
ie: If they lie so easily about something most wingers would have us believe is so banal, what else are they willing to lie about?
Well, the reason I bring up the “minor” heart attack thing is because I’ve got an even better tin-foil theory (that’ll be sure to drive you Bushies crazy):
Whittington is already dead!
With the way these facts keep trickling out, as far fetched as it may seem; what if Cheney actually offed the guy on Saturday on accident (hence the 24hr delay)…and they’re just waiting so they can spin his death as brought about by some other minor complications related to the injury?
Has anyone actually seen Whittington?
Why wasn’t the press allowed to interview him if he was in such “super-duper stable condition” yesterday?
Why the “grazing”, “peppered”, “bruised” bullshit if this guy already has buckshot deep inside his chest?
See, this is what happens when one LIES constantly about EVERYTHING! It leaves room for these kinds of (seemingly) crazy theories. And you righties wonder why there is so much anger on the Left, when it comes to these two buffons in the White House?
Well, Frame, I’m only an EMT-Basic, but I can tell you that the “hospital official” was either full of shit, or he/she playing a weird, politically motivated semantic game.
A heart attack, otherwise known as a myocardial infarction, could be described as ‘minor,’ though only in the way that Fat Man and Little Boy could be called ‘minor’ compared to current U.S. nuclear weapons. As you can see from the link, a heart attack is serious shit, even if it is a ‘minor’ one. If you’re 78 years old, you don’t want to be having any of those myocardial infarctions, not even ‘minor’ ones.
frameone,
Psssst! He’s not a real Doctor. He just plays one on liberal blogs!
I’m sure Mrs Whittington will be glad to hear from you jokers that her husband’s heart attack is nothing to worry about.
Excuse me, Alex, a minor detail: You linked to WikiPedia, bnot exactly the JAMA, and the link refers to “acute” myocardial infarcation. So, if it’s acute, it’s serious. If it’s not acute, iy isn’t serious.
I was told by a doctor that my sonogram showed that I might have had “several” heart attacks. Considering I didn’t recall anything like that, they must have been minor.
Dugger;
With the exception of that quote you pulled, you have to admit………….
Who, exactly, is defending it? He shot somebody. Somebody was shot by him. There was a shooting of a person by another person.
That’s it. What is there to defend?
Curmudgeon…
I beat you to the conspiracy theory by a couple hours. Of course, I benefit from having seen the fax…
Semant,
What is the “this” (‘But why defend this? ‘) that we are not supposed to defend? The accident? Why does an admitted accident require defending or attacking. Mostly commenters are making fun of leftists trying to turn this into a major political event.
Dugger
I beat you to the conspiracy theory by a couple hours. Of course, I benefit from having seen the fax&
Damn. I’ve got to get on that list.
Interesting, Alex. Herr Dr. Pedro, however, disagrees. He believes there is such a thing as a “minor” heart attack.
I think the ball is in you court, Dr. P
1) The VP’s office sat on the story for a day. 2) The secret service reported to the sheriff that the victim had been shot by a “pellet gun,” not a shotgun 3) The deputy who went to the Armstrong ranch to interview/investigate on Saturday night was turned away. Cheney wasn’t interviewed until Sunday. 4) VP’s office spins the events as being the fault of the victim, or just bad luck, rather than Cheney’s bad decision.
What does it add up to? Most likely, Cheney was drinking, fired irresponsibly, and now the Secret Service and Republican propaganda machine are covering for him. That’s the least charitable interpretation, anyway. Republican apologists like you guys are “defending” the stonewalling, hiding, and “blame the victim” spin that the WH has carried out. Now, I don’t think it’s the worst thing in the world to shoot a guy and trigger a heart attack. If the victim’s okay with it, fine, no reason to concern the legal system. But the public has a right to know, and not be lied to. And politicians have a right to make hay of it all.
TomY, Actually the public has no ‘right to know’. And you can speculate all you want, but there will be an investgation of the accident and that will be it. It was an accident.
Dugger
Questions the public has a right to know the answer to: 1) Did Dick Cheney order the Secret Service to lie to the sheriff about the weapon being a “pellet gun” instead of a “shotgun.” 2) Did Dick Cheney order the Secret Service to send the deputies away on Saturday night to cover up the fact that he had been drinking? Why did Secret Service delay the sheriff’s interview until Sunday? 3) Did Dick Cheney make the decision not to tell the press about the shooting personally, or was it a staffer?
Just because something is an accident, doesn’t mean it was the result of carelessness, which is, in fact, the cause of most accidents. Think of the last time you knocked over a glass or broke something… it was probably because you weren’t paying enough attention to what you were doing. In car accidents, one person is often assigned blame for the “accident”. Just wanted to point this out.
And I can’t believe that Cheney actually thought that the best person to convey this message to the press was a private citizen… the man is a calculating control freak, as most successful politicians are. The only possilbe explanation for this is that he didn’t want the official story to be that it was the other guy’s fault… it’s much more palatable coming from someone else. Except it’s not.
If it involved the public institution of the Secret Service then, barring any national security issue, we do indeed have a right to know.
If it involved the public institution of the Secret Service then, barring any national security issue, we do indeed have a right to know.
The Secret Service is probably no more than a few feet away from Cheney when he takes a shit. Do you expect to be told of the length, width and smell of the VP’s dumps?
TomY’s ridiculous questions merely serve to reinforce the notion of the Anti-Bush Cult.
“A heart attack, otherwise known as a myocardial infarction, could be described as minor, though only in the way that Fat Man and Little Boy could be called minor compared to current U.S. nuclear weapons”
Not exactly…..
There are a range of “heart attacks” . A heart attack is a loss of blood to the heart muscle, the myocardium, usually caused by a blockage in one of the coronary arteries.
It is much different to have a clot in one minor vessel that has already developed a lot of collateral circulation vs a massive MI with 4 major vessels involved. It has to do with the amount of heart muscle damaged. There are even variants known as “angina” which is just the pain associated with a decreased blood flow. In essence then, a “minor” heart attack is one in which there is a minor vessel involved, or a small amount of myocardium. This would unlikely change the ejection fraction, as the heart as a pump still runs well. A massive MI causes damage to a large amount of myocardium, weakening the pump function and causing more problems.
Now, all that being said, as I tell my patients, “there is no such thing as “minor” surgery if it is happening to you….”. The doctors there took it seriously and sent him back to the unit, and probably with be doing some sort of anti-platelet treatment at very least. I doubt he will need any significant intervention such as a bypass or angioplasty based on the description.
I do agree with Alex though, I don’t want to be having any sort of an MI…I don’t want to be shot in the face either.
Thanks for stating the obvious…..
According to The Center for Public Integrity, The Veep is worth between $23.9 and $111.2 million dollars. He should pay for Mr. Harry’s medical bills in their entirety and be done with it. Of course that is a tacit admission that he F@*K## UP bigtime.
Making light of the fact that you caused a 78 year old man to have a heart attack from all the buckshot you pumped into his face and chest is probably not the way to endear onself to the public.
The Vice President needs to be a man, own up to what he did publicly, face the music, and make amends. It’s either that or join Spiro Agnew in infamy and resign in disgrace. He’s going to face indictment anyway over the Plame Affair.
trevor it was birdshot….you should try to read the talking points and make sense of them, don’t just cut and paste them without UNDERSTANDING them….
Amazing.
Is there anything the cult of Bush won’t defend?
You have one joker–who pretends to be an MD–trying to say that a heart attack is the equivalent of getting a splinter.
“Dr.” Pedro,
I take it that you disagree that: The Vice President needs to be a man, own up to what he did publicly, face the music, and make amends. It s either that or join Spiro Agnew in infamy and resign in disgrace. He s going to face indictment anyway over the Plame Affair.
I find it incredible that you and your fellow wingnut travelers don’t think this our Vice President isn’t an unfathomable prick for not coming forward and clearing the air on the record, in a public press conference, on this and the Plame Affair. This is not much ado about nothing. It’s about accountability, responsibility, veracity, and national security. Concepts this Administration claims fealty to but does nothing on the record to respect.
Well Cheetos I have had my hand on many more hearts than have you….
You don’t get a pericardial tamponade 3 days after the injury moron.
You have been watching too much “trauma, life in the ER”, and apparently not paying attention…..
Frank,
It’s nice to know that you are completely in the tank while Cheney and company compromise our National Security Personnel.
It’s also telling that the Director of Central Intelligence is calling for an investigation of whistleblowers that blew the lid off the Administration’s illegal domestic surveillance program and not the Plame Affair.
The Plame Affair is no big deal we were told, right? It only seems like yesterday that Scooter Libby was being praised by the President as a stand up guy as he left under indictment for doing Cheney’s bidding. Now that he’s accused the Vice President of impeachable and indictable offenses, the Bushies have nothin’ to say.
I can’t contain my glee.
The Empire is crumbling.
So, you go ahead and pretend that Cheney’s latest cowardice doesn’t mean something significant.
I’m gonna go and put some popcorn by the TV so I don’t have to move as I watch the Empire implode.
I take it that you disagree that: The Vice President needs to be a man, own up to what he did publicly, face the music, and make amends
For the record, I disagree, too.
I also think that while it is about “accountability, responsibility, and veracity,” it is a small matter, and in no way involves national security.
Just thought I’d throw in my $.02
well, at least Cheney’s accident victim is still alive – didn’t Laura Bush actually kill someone she knew?
“Doctors at Christus Spohn Hospital Corpus Christi-Memorial said Whittington suffered a “silent heart attack” obstructed blood flow, but without the classic heart-attack symptoms of pain and pressure.”
Heeeyyyy…..!
Maybe ol’e “Doc Pedro” does know a thing or two about this old medicine stuff……
by the way, if the guy is still in a little community hospital, they aren’t that worried. If they were, he would have been medevaced to Baylor or another tertiary care center….
No, Joy, that was Ted Kennedy.
Dugger;
Don’t lose your sense of humor. I know it’s easier for me to see
the funny bone extend when Gay Al satirizes right wing denialism,
but come on……….
So, you go ahead and pretend that Cheney s latest cowardice doesn t mean something significant.
Who said I was pretending?
Get a lot of popcorn. You’re going to need it.
Ya Pedro, because “Silent heart attack” equals “minor heart attack”:
“These so-called “silent heart attacks,” however, are only the most extreme case of a still more prevalent condition called “silent ischemia” – a chronic shortage of oxygen – and nutrient-bearing blood to a portion of the heart. Both conditions put their victims at significant risk.”
I think I’m going with Cheetos diagnosis of your skills. I’m interested though, are you now claiming to be a heart surgeon? A heart surgeon who blogs all day long?
naa….I do brain tumors, I am strictly amature when it comes to things cardiac.