RIP, David Bloom. (1 Viewer)

David Bloom
1963-2003

NBC news reporter David Bloom has died in Iraq. Bloom was 39 years old. It is believed that his death was not combat-related.

I greatly enjoyed Bloom's coverage over the years, including his work in Iraq over the past few weeks. He was an excellent reporter and will be sorely missed.

Here is a link to the msnbc.com story:

http://www.msnbc.com/news/896267.asp?0cv=CB21

According to my local NBC news station, Bloom died of a pulmonary embolism. :frowning:

Thats really sad.... Ive watched the today show since about when he started and he was way by far my favorite him and soleadad (however you spell her name).
His upbeat attitude will be missed by me greatly...

I was actually quite saddened this am to hear his death

Shocked. :frowning:

Oh, that's TERRIBLE! David Bloom was an EXCELLENT reporter on the Today show... I am absolutely shocked. He was too young and still had a good 20-30 more years of great news in him.

RIP Dave! :frowning:

Sad, indeed. I just read last week that one of the soldiers dropped dead of a pulmonary embolism. Makes you wonder just how common they are and provides additional proof that you have to live every day to the fullest.

I was also shocked and saddened to learn of David Bloom's sudden death this morning. David was one of the more credible and interesting journalists on TV. His reports from Iraq were interesting and informative without being silly like so many others are.

It is quite sad, 39 years old.....................

Michael said:

I just read last week that one of the soldiers dropped dead of a pulmonary embolism.

I had not heard this. However, when I heard about a healthy 39-year-old man (Bloom) dying suddenly of a pulmonary embolism after having spent weeks in the Iraqi desert, I immediately wondered if his constant exposure to dust and sand from sandstorms was to blame. Now that I have learned that a soldier died of the same thing, I am really curious. It stands to reason that dust and sand could irritate the lungs to the point that a serious medical issue resulted.

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

A Pulmonary embolus, if that is what caused his death, has nothing to do with whatever you may inhale. It is simply a blood clot which travels into your lungs and prevents some, if not all, of the flow of blood into your lungs. If large enough and completely obstructive, all flow stops and you die suddenly. If smaller, you can have chest pain and shortness of breath.

Nevertheless, risk factors tend to be long periods of immobility of the legs, smoking, birth control pills and a few others.

Chris

David was the likely future of NBC reporting. He was the anchor in their war coverage, and his energy kept him constantly on the move with stories and valuable insights. He leaves behind a wife and three young daughters. The good news is that he passed on surrounded by good people doing the job he loved. It wasn't his family, of course, but it's something consoling.

Good man, great reporter.

Take care,
Chuck

Chris, I have read about the causes and risk factors associated with a pulmonary embolism, but I was wondering if, by chance, constant irritation to the lungs from the sandstorms could have caused the problem with David Bloom. I guess I was searching for a reasonable explanation for why a seemingly healthy 39-year-old man would die suddenly.

I must say I'm shocked,

I've enjoyed Bloom's reporting for many years now.. this is just too shocking. :frowning:

KeithH,

Well, I can't think of a medically sound reason which would allow foreign objects in the lung to get into, or affect, the circulatory sustem. If the objects could get into the alveoli, they'd have to pass through the alveoli walls and into the capillaries to the bloodstream. This, by the way, is sorta downstream for the lungs (blood heading back to the heart), where PE's are in the upstream of the blood (from heart to lung). I'm no pulmonologist, but I can't imagine the possibility the sand or other desert thing caused a PE.

I will say that PE is not a diagnosis you can make by looking at someone dead. It requires either a CT scan or other radiological testing (which I can't imagine they have nearby) or post-death, an autopsy. It is widely thought that PE's are a more frequent cause of sudden death than the medical community believes, and probably most lay people don't know much, if anything, about.

If it was a PE, I would guess that his only risk factor would be prolonged immobility of his legs, which can cause blood clots in the calf which could break loose and travel to the lung and be a PE. There's been some concern about long airline flights in this regard. If this guy has spent too much time sitting in a vehicle, that may cause it. Lastly, we don't know of his underlying medical problems. Perhaps he had a known or unknown hypercoagubility problem, which can lead to an increased chance of clot formation.

Nevertheless, it is unfortunate when someone dies prematurely. My job is with a fire department as a medical director for EMS. I routinely respond to 911 calls and stuff like this happens daily. It is rather sobering to acknowledge and my only hope is that my turn never comes up.

Chris

Chris, thanks for all the added information. I appreciate your perspective. This was terribly sad, and it is scary at the same time.

I'm very saddened to hear this! I watch the first 15 to 20 minutes of the Today show every single morning to get updates on the war and all the other news, and I have always found David Bloom to be an excellent reporter. I was amazed at how well he could perform under such pressure. I can't believe this had to happen to such a fine man and at such a young age. This is terrible news. :frowning:

Total bummer. I looked forward to Bloom's reports and enjoyed his previous work. This is truly a sad story.

David Bloom was my favorite Today show anchor.

The thing that I liked, which i think was a strength,
was his sincerity.

He wasnt a phony.

He did not seem to be the usual "stoic talking head"...
nor did he ever appear smarmy, or self serving, which
so many do.

Really sad:frowning:

Terrible news. David was a tremendously gifted reporter and will be sorely missed, as will be Michael Kelly.

In terms of the embolism, although it is not my field of medicine, I can hardly believe that a PE would ever be in any way related to inhaled material, particulate or otherwise. When a young, healthy individual experiences a PE, I would incriminate prolonged leg flexion and immobility (such as being on an airplane, or sleeping in a cramped position) or a previously undiagnosed clotting disorder, such as Protein C or S deficiency.

--Angelo.M, who rarely signs M.D. after his name at HTF unless he has to

Rest In Peace, Mr. Bloom. This is sad news indeed.