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fingers, often of a novel but imprecise sensation which builds with irregular heart beat. Early symptoms may be mistaken for food poisoning, flu or general malaise until they intensify. A widow maker cannot kill instantly but induces cardiac arrest which may do so within 10 to 20 minutes of no circulation. A victim with no pulse or breath is still alive, living off oxygen stored in the blood and may be able to be rescued if treatment is begun promptly within this window.
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does not prevent heart attack but it can restore blood flow in case of a sudden blockage or heart attack and if performed within a rapid time period can minimize the damage done. An example of the devastating results of a complete occlusion of the LAD artery was the sudden death of former NBC News
407:
From the minute a widow maker heart attack hits, survival time ranges from minutes to several hours. Rapidly progressing symptoms should signal the need for immediate attention. Symptoms of initial onset may include nausea, shortness of breath, pain in the head, jaw, arms or chest, numbness in
1499:
588:
The most worrisome type is the proximal left anterior descending (LAD) MI, often referred to as the widow-maker infarction, which carries a high mortality and is attributed to an occlusion of the LAD before or at the first septal
378:
This term is used because the left main coronary and/or the left anterior descending supply blood to large areas of the heart. This means that if these arteries are abruptly and completely occluded it will cause a massive
299:
Middle: from proximal segment to halfway of remaining distance to apex. A more technical definition is from the proximal segment to the point where the LAD forms an angle, as seen from a right anterior oblique view on
838:
The LAD is frequently implicated in sudden cardiac death, predominantly in adult males. Clinicians often refer to the LAD as the widow maker because obstruction here predisposes to a high incidence of sudden
603:"Anomalous Course of the Left Main or Left Anterior Descending Coronary Artery Originating From the Right Sinus of Valsalva: Identification of Four Common Variations by Electron Beam Tomography"
387:
streaming to the site of a ruptured cholesterol plaque. Even a small amount of plaque in this area can (for a variety of poorly understood reasons) rupture and cause death;
1345:
155:
296:
Proximal: from LAD origin to, and including, the origin of the first septal branch (some definitions say to first diagonal, or to whichever comes first)
203:. It provides about half of the arterial supply to the left ventricle and is thus considered the most important vessel supplying the left ventricle.
1360:
1432:
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746:
Kini, S; Bis, KG; Weaver, L (June 2007). "Normal and variant coronary arterial and venous anatomy on high-resolution CT angiography".
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Although rare, multiple anomalous courses of the LAD have been described. These include the origin of the artery from the right
934:
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864:
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Septals originate from the LAD at 90 degrees to the surface of the heart, perforating and supplying the anterior 2/3 of the
1151:
703:
Weber, C; Brown, KN; Borger, J (January 2020). "Anatomy, Thorax, Heart
Anomalous Left Anterior Descending (LAD) Artery".
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The artery supplies the anterior region of the left ventricle, including: the anterolateral
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and is therefore considered the most critical vessel in terms of myocardial blood supply.
8:
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at the SUNY Downstate
Medical Center - "Heart: The Left Coronary Artery and its Branches"
346:
1478:
1447:
1267:
675:
648:
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at Human
Anatomy Online, SUNY Downstate Medical Center - "Anterior view of the heart."
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241:
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Knowledge articles incorporating text from the 20th edition of Gray's
Anatomy (1918)
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Villa, AD; Sammut, E; Nair, A; Rajani, R; Bonamini, R; Chiribiri, A (28 June 2016).
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may also apply to the left coronary artery or severe occlusions to that artery.
278:
Diagonals run along the surface of the heart and supply the lateral wall of the
33:
Sternocostal surface of heart. Anterior descending branch labeled at upper right
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that will likely lead to sudden death. The blockage that kills is made up of
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is an alternative name for the anterior interventricular branch of the
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384:
335:
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Left: Critical stenosis (95%) of the proximal LAD in a patient with
922:
304:, which is often close to the origin of the second diagonal branch.
649:"Coronary artery anomalies overview: The normal and the abnormal"
228:, then passes anteriorward between that pulmonary artery and the
1081:
1073:
893:
Professional
Paramedic, Volume I: Foundations of Paramedic Care
850:
112:
ramus interventricularis anterior arteriae coronariae sinistrae
859:(1st ed.). Jones & Bartlett Publishers. p. 819.
1200:
1077:
307:
Distal: from middle segment to apex, or in some cases beyond.
106:
56:
28:
923:
Carlos S Restrepo; Dianna M. E. Bardo (1 January 2011).
189:
anterior interventricular branch of left coronary artery
985:"How Kevin Smith Survived a 'Widow-Maker' Heart Attack"
886:
816:
Multiple Lead ECGs: A Practical
Analysis of Arrhythmias
1467:
646:
1072:
569:. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. p. 283.
916:
558:
556:
391:chronic blockages or trying to open them up with
1491:
844:
702:
789:, Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing,
536:, Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing,
887:Richard Beebe; Jeff Myers (11 December 2009).
880:
781:Wilson, Alexander; Bhutta, Beenish S. (2022),
553:
528:Wilson, Alexander; Bhutta, Beenish S. (2022),
1058:
959:"TV newsman Tim Russert dies of heart attack"
745:
400:, as well as the near-death of film director
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328:. The LAD typically supplies 45ā55% of the
1065:
1051:
857:Paramedic Practice Today: Above and Beyond
851:Barbara J. Aehlert; Robert Vroman (2011).
741:
739:
563:Topol, Eric J.; Califf, Robert M. (2007).
199:. It supplies the anterior portion of the
39:
27:
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259:The LAD gives off two types of branches:
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437:The arch of the aorta, and its branches.
334:
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425:Coronary arteries (labeled in red text)
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1006:"Surviving a Widow-Maker Heart Attack"
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748:AJR. American Journal of Roentgenology
600:
501:This article incorporates text in the
1046:
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411:
224:It first passes at posterior to the
774:
566:Textbook of Cardiovascular Medicine
207:of this artery is often called the
13:
965:from the original on June 24, 2008
813:Lewis, Kathryn (1 December 2009).
521:
473:Human heart with coronary arteries
240:. In 78% of cases, it reaches the
14:
1516:
1024:
895:. Cengage Learning. p. 764.
783:"Anatomy, Thorax, Coronary Sinus"
530:"Anatomy, Thorax, Coronary Sinus"
236:, along which it descends to the
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819:. Cengage Learning. p. 10.
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234:anterior interventricular sulcus
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957:Morgan, David (June 13, 2008).
601:Ropers, D. (12 February 2002).
181:left anterior descending artery
22:Left anterior descending artery
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353:
345:Right: The same patient after
1:
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211:due to a high risk of death.
214:
7:
509:of the 20th edition of
311:
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10:
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1443:Posterior intercostal 3ā11
653:World Journal of Radiology
485:Heart coronary territories
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193:anterior descending branch
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1390:Posterior intercostal 1ā2
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1004:Kearl, Mary (June 2009).
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1179:Left anterior descending
1037:Anatomy figure: 20:03-08
1031:Anatomy photo:20:09-0102
396:Washington Bureau Chief
929:. Thieme. p. 188.
322:interventricular septum
273:interventricular septum
90:interventricular septum
1505:Arteries of the thorax
724:Cite journal requires
350:
282:and the anterolateral
209:widow-maker infarction
163:Anatomical terminology
1110:Ligamentum arteriosum
666:10.4329/wjr.v8.i6.537
620:10.1161/hc0602.102020
358:Further information:
338:
238:notch of cardiac apex
195:) is a branch of the
1361:Perforating branches
1346:Anterior intercostal
1278:Right common carotid
1162:Posterior descending
1129:Coronary circulation
369:left coronary artery
324:, and anterolateral
197:left coronary artery
67:Left coronary artery
1386:Highest intercostal
1381:Costocervical trunk
1374:superior epigastric
1356:Pericardiacophrenic
1320:Carotid bifurcation
993:. 26 February 2018.
760:10.2214/AJR.06.1295
16:Artery of the heart
351:
76:Septals, diagonals
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1461:
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1404:
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1341:Internal thoracic
936:978-1-60406-186-4
902:978-1-4283-2345-2
866:978-0-323-08535-9
412:Additional images
320:, apex, anterior
242:apex of the heart
177:
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1453:Superior phrenic
1303:Internal carotid
1298:External carotid
1273:Right subclavian
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1096:Pulmonary artery
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341:Wellens' Warning
326:papillary muscle
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226:pulmonary artery
169:edit on Wikidata
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659:(6): 537ā55.
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1310:Carotid body
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1010:. Retrieved
1008:. AOL Health
999:
990:Live Science
988:
979:
967:. Retrieved
952:
940:. Retrieved
925:
918:
906:. Retrieved
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870:. Retrieved
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830:. Retrieved
815:
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798:, retrieved
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717:cite journal
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580:. Retrieved
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545:, retrieved
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449:Heart attack
406:
381:heart attack
377:
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364:
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249:aortic sinus
246:
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208:
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132:A12.2.03.202
111:
1433:Mediastinal
1251:Aortic arch
1241:Aortic body
1221:Aortic arch
961:. Reuters.
607:Circulation
589:perforator.
402:Kevin Smith
398:Tim Russert
393:angioplasty
373:widow maker
371:. The name
365:Widow maker
354:Widow maker
347:reperfusion
302:angiography
230:left atrium
101:Identifiers
1494:Categories
1428:Esophageal
1410:Descending
1332:subclavian
832:6 November
800:2023-01-05
787:StatPearls
582:6 November
547:2023-01-05
534:StatPearls
491:References
318:myocardium
118:Acronym(s)
86:myocardium
1448:Subcostal
1440:parietal:
1423:Bronchial
1420:visceral:
389:bypassing
385:platelets
265:diagonals
215:Structure
1366:terminal
1209:Sections
1147:AV nodal
1142:SA nodal
1074:Arteries
1012:June 22,
969:June 13,
963:Archived
795:32491498
768:17515392
709:30844189
685:27358682
629:11839639
542:32491498
507:page 547
312:Function
291:Segments
255:Branches
205:Blockage
88:, apex,
81:Supplies
73:Branches
53:Location
1484:Anatomy
1076:of the
942:2 March
908:2 March
872:2 March
676:4919754
261:septals
48:Details
1470:Portal
1351:Thymic
1152:Atrial
933:
899:
863:
839:death.
823:
793:
766:
707:
683:
673:
627:
573:
540:
515:(1918)
220:Course
183:(also
63:Source
1412:aorta
1201:Aorta
1122:Heart
1101:Right
1089:Lungs
1082:chest
1078:torso
505:from
191:, or
167:[
107:Latin
57:Heart
1330:Left
1288:Left
1106:Left
1080:and
1014:2009
971:2008
944:2015
931:ISBN
910:2015
897:ISBN
889:"34"
874:2015
861:ISBN
853:"22"
834:2014
821:ISBN
791:PMID
764:PMID
730:help
705:PMID
681:PMID
625:PMID
584:2014
571:ISBN
538:PMID
267:.
263:and
179:The
156:3862
144:4143
127:TA98
96:(LV)
756:doi
752:188
671:PMC
661:doi
615:doi
611:105
185:LAD
151:FMA
139:TA2
121:LAD
1496::
1372:,
987:.
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171:]
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