This may just be an
incorrect estimate by a doctor, but this statement is pretty interesting (emphasis mine):
Dr. David Blanchard, the hospital's emergency room chief, said Whittington suffered an "asymptomatic heart attack," without displaying symptoms such as chest pains or breathing difficulty. He said a roughly 5 mm piece of shot became lodged in or alongside Whittington's heart muscle, causing the organ's upper two chambers to beat irregularly.
Update [2006-2-14 17:17:58 by guyermo]:from a Yahoo News
article:
Hospital officials said they were not concerned about the six to 200 other pieces of birdshot that might still be lodged in Whittington's body. Cheney was using 7 1/2 shot from a 28-gauge shotgun. Shotgun pellets are typically made of steel or lead; the pellets in 7 1/2 shot are just under a tenth of an inch in diameter.
Now unnecessary analysis below
Roughly may end up being the key word in the paragraph. Here is some
information I found on the internet, and seems accurate based on all the comments I've read so far.
First, the typical loads for various game
Upland Game ( lead or tungsten alloy shot ) |
Turkey |
4,5,6 |
Pheasant |
4,5,6 |
Chukker, Grouse, Partridge |
6, 7 1/2 |
Quail |
7 1/2, 8 |
Dove |
7 1/2, 8 |
Rail, Snipe, and Woodcock |
7 1/2, 8 |
Rabbit |
6, 7 1/2 |
Squirrel |
6 |
Now for the shot sizes
Shot Sizes |
BBB |
4.83mm |
BB |
4.57mm |
1 |
4.06mm |
2 |
3.81mm |
3 |
3.56mm |
4 |
3.30mm |
5 |
3.05mm |
6 |
2.79mm |
7 1/2 |
2.41mm |
8 |
2.29mm |
8 1/2 |
2.16mm |
9 |
2.03mm |
Now, assuming the doctor is speaking correctly with accurate information, this means that the size of the shot lodged in his heart is one of the largest sizes out there, and far larger than what is required for any of the small game/fowl listed above.
He also was specific by saying "piece" not "pieces." So either two pieces of shot are close/stuck together and indistinguishable, the shot became distorted or something else.
Like I said, it may be that the "roughly" is the key word. Is the shot size about 1/4 inch or about 1/8 inch? This is just one more piece of a very confusing puzzle. All of this conflicing information is enough to make you scream.
If you think this yet another overkill diary disecting what happened this weekend, let me know and I'll delete.