What We Can Learn About Living From Richard Holbrooke's Death

Richard Holbrooke's sudden death of an aortic tear this Monday came as a shock to his friends, colleagues, and the public who knew him as a robust and energetic diplomat.

Holbrooke, who died at 69 after 40 years in the foreign service, had been serving as President Obama's special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan at the time of his death. His last words were reportedly, "You've got to stop this war in Afghanistan," as part of a joking exchange with doctors who told him he had to relax (he said he could not relax -- he was too worried about Afghanistan).

It's perhaps unsurprising that so famous a workaholic would be thinking of his job to the very end. NBC's Andrea Mitchell, while remembering Holbrooke, took note of his unremitting dedication to his work, often at the expense of his health. "He would perhaps be alive right now if he had not thrown himself into this job, traveling around the world," she said Dec. 13 on "The Rachel Maddow Show." "And I know of at least three instances where he did have blood clot and heart episodes unreported ... and he still did not stop."

Holbrooke's job was perhaps one of the most stressful positions anyone could hope to have. And from Mitchell's description of Holbrooke's work patterns, it's unlikely that anyone could have successfully convinced him to take a day off, or a night off, or even an hour off from the demanding pressure of navigating the thorny situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

But Mitchell's comments suggest that she believes that if Holbrooke had somehow managed to handle the extraordinary stress of his job with the competing requirements of his health, he could still be alive today--a major reminder for overworked and over-scheduled individuals to commit to take the time to unplug and recharge.

The connection between stress and health is well-established, with many experts positively associating poorly-managed stress with the incidence of heart disease. "While people know stress plays a role in how they feel physically, they're often unaware that it is a risk factor for heart disease," said Suzanne Steinbaum, M.D., an attending cardiologist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, in a Health.com report.

If what Mitchell says is true, her evaluation is a powerful reminder of the need to consider our commitment to our jobs in the framework of our commitment to our whole lives. "Ask your soul," Hermann Hesse implored us in "My Belief." "Your soul will not blame you for having cared too little about politics, for having exerted yourself too little, hated your enemies too little, or too little fortified your frontiers. But she will perhaps blame you for so often having feared and fled from her demands, for never having had time to give her..."

Though it might seem like a luxury to try to find those extra hours of sleep, or to strive for a few meditative moments in the midst of office turmoil, success and wellness are inextricably bound together.

WATCH Andrea Mitchell discuss Richard Holbrooke below:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Comments

[Ranveig Elvebakk]

05:37 PM on 12/23/2010

Not being a political insider I can only judge by what came down the pike. Hared work is not stressful when people are on a mission and love their work this much. I had professors of medicine who were in their 80'es and busily thrived on work.
Being stuck in a rut and forced to work hard without a sense of purpose is stressful.
Being overweight and eating sugar is a receipe for silent disaster sneaking up on you. If you in addition smoke, start counting down down to reckoning day.
I know nothing about Mr Holbrook's habits, I also don't know the reason he so sadly died, but among his assistants should have been a knowledgeable dietician.

[concerned joe]

10:55 PM on 12/19/2010

I neither knew the man or very much about him. From what I have read that is probably my loss. My impression is that Richard Holbrooke was a vey wise man and that the world will be a lesser place with his passing.

My thoughts are with his family and all that knew and loved him.

[Sasa Milosevic]

04:09 PM on 12/18/2010

Hey, what do you talking about?
You mention Holbrooke's stress?
What about stress he caused on millions of people in regions with his political activity?
No one mention it.!
He was everything except the peacemaker !

[Willow712]

11:40 PM on 12/16/2010

Ask yourself if this is going to matter in five years? In Holbrooke's case: Maybe. In our lives: no, it probably won't matter in five years.

[concerned joe]

10:58 PM on 12/19/2010

This is probably true of most people including yourself.

Who will remember you or me 5 years after our passing?

[RockyBlue3]

02:19 PM on 12/16/2010

This year I have asked Santa to talk Andrea Mitchell into retiring.

[nana4g]

10:11 AM on 12/16/2010

Good general advise for us all. However, Mr Holbrooke died from an aorta that had torn and was leaking, not from a heart attack. More rest and sleep and a less stressful and demanding life would not have done anything for an aorta that was poised to rupture. No one can anticipate this; there are no regular tests, exams, done for anyone to investigate whether or not one's aorta is in good shape. It happens when it happens and only then, do we discover it. What is amazing is that Mr Holbrooke was in any condition to joke and banter while preparing for surgery. His ability to survive the surgery was not a result of his lifestyle on his health either. It is extremely rare for anyone to survive surgery for a torn aorta once it tears. If one is fortunate to have symptoms beforehand, one can surgically intervene with improved outcome, or, if it is discovered during the course of an investigation into other issues, one can be fortunate. Even then, it is extremely risky surgery. The leaking of the major artery in the body has almost immediate effect on major organs, such as kidney, heart, brain. The man was stronger and more stalwart than anyone would have known, to hold on long enough to enter surgery with a fully functioning mind, sharp enough to banter with his caregivers. What a tremendous loss to all of us and to his family.

[MoreOptions]

09:36 AM on 12/16/2010

He lived the way he wanted. Switched on every minute. His last thoughts were about solving great problems. The problem with this is what?

Dave Brubeck said, "I hope I'm not helpless at the end...I hope I go out playing some stride
piano." Holbrooke got to do just that.

[AyeChart]

08:55 AM on 12/16/2010

Did he ever smoke cigarettes?  Simply smoking 100 or more cigarettes in one's lifetime markedly increases the risk of aortic aneurysm, as well as just being a male over 60.

[BlueZoo]

09:37 PM on 12/16/2010

Oh please get off that horse! My father smoked from the time he was 13 until he died at the age of 92 and he smoked two packs a day. Many others have done the same. I don't dispute the harmful effects of smoking but you simply cannot blame every person's death on their having smoked in their life. There are many other considerations, particularly genetics. btw: My Grandmother never smoked a day in her life and lived on an island and in a home that did not have central air or heat. She died at 52 of lung cancer!

[Willow712]

11:44 PM on 12/16/2010

I agree. It would seem that there is a genetic connection with different diseases. My Grandpa smoked until he was over 90 also. And it never bothered him. Neither of my parents had any genetics for cancer or heart disease.

[Suzanne525]

08:22 AM on 12/16/2010

Andrea Mitchell, medical correspondent????

[ThinkCreeps]

07:00 AM on 12/16/2010

Sixty-nine-year-old overweight man dies of heart problem.

Meanwhile, thousands of young people dance right through the night. No deaths reported.

[nana4g]

10:16 AM on 12/16/2010

He did not die of a heart problem. The aorta ruptured, tore, and was bleeding. The aorta is the largest, main thorougfare in the circulation of blood throughout the body. When enough blood is lost from the body circulation, and that would be a lot of blood from a leaking aorta, one, of course, has heart attacks, kidney failure, and brain anoxia, because of lack of blood supply. One can be a non smoker for life and still have a ruptured aorta and there is no routine inclusion of testing what shape one's aorta is in. Once it happens, it is dire emergency, and cannot be "fixed" as easily as a heart attack, which is bad enough.

[Terypat]

04:14 AM on 12/16/2010

No stress lines on Andrea's face, but then again I don't think puppets can get them!

[msfaye]

03:46 AM on 12/16/2010

so what about soldiers fighting in the battlefield what kind of stress induced death does that cause. everyone has incredible stress (i didn't like the title of the story) at many times in their lives we live and we die period. just because he was a power brokers does not cause any more stress than being shot at by the taliban not knowing if you'll live another day or will you get your armnd legs blown off.

[blindhog]

09:27 AM on 12/16/2010

And is it any wonder these fine young men and women come back home STILL in stress??????!!!!!!!

I'd just like to know what justifies sending the flesh and blood of our poor and middle class to an unnecessary war, while at the same time the so-called elected officials who created the war have no skin in the game, just MONEY??????????!!!!!!!!!

[James Gallagher IV]

02:15 AM on 12/16/2010

Per http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000181.htm
Risk factors for Aortic Dissection include:
atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries)
high blood pressure.
Traumatic injury is a major cause of aortic dissection, especially blunt trauma to the chest. Hitting the steering wheel of a car during an accident is a common traumatic cause.

Other risk factors and conditions associated with the development of aortic dissection include:

Aging
Bicuspid aortic valve
Coarctation (narrowing) of the aorta
Connective tissue disorders
Ehlers-Danlos syndrome
Heart surgery or procedures
Marfan syndrome
Pregnancy
Pseudoxanthoma elasticum
Vascular inflammation due to conditions such as arteritis and syphilis

Stress per se is not listed. Perhaps he had untreated cardiovascular disease.

[Weirdwriter]

02:32 AM on 12/16/2010

It does seem as if he'd had to have had some initial physical cause for the problem -- stress can certainly aggravate anything.

Stress could even mask the realization that something more was happening. Had a friend who kept dismissing the discomfort as "just stress" until informed he had fractured a rib.

[nana4g]

10:22 AM on 12/16/2010

It has been reported that he had been treated for blood clots before. Many people are but not all also have weak aortas. Many people with heart disease do not have weak aortas. Many people with high blood pressure do not have weak aortas. In the absence of obvious external injury, there is no way to detect a congenital malformation, a stretching of the wall or a balooning of the wall, or any other weakening of the walls of this big and major vessel unless one has enough symptoms. It usually happens suddenly, just like in this case, except death often is also immediate.

[Coco Lily]

01:54 AM on 12/16/2010

Uh-huh!!

[Shaun Hensley]

12:29 AM on 12/16/2010

The Mitchell piece was written for the express purpose of minimizing the effect of Holbrooke's last words.

[Weirdwriter]

01:59 AM on 12/16/2010

Howzat?