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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
418:
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
1510:
347:
599:
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
389:
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
310:
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
849:
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
614:"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"
1356:
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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;
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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)
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214:. It provides about half of the arterial supply to the left ventricle and is thus considered the most important vessel supplying the left ventricle.
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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
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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
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1480:
714:
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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1511:
Knowledge (XXG) articles incorporating text from the 20th edition of Gray's
Anatomy (1918)
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and is therefore considered the most critical vessel in terms of myocardial blood supply.
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at the SUNY Downstate
Medical Center - "Heart: The Left Coronary Artery and its Branches"
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1241:
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659:
340:
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at Human
Anatomy Online, SUNY Downstate Medical Center - "Anterior view of the heart."
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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.
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Diagonals run along the surface of the heart and supply the lateral wall of the
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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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Left: Critical stenosis (95%) of the proximal LAD in a patient with
315:, which is often close to the origin of the second diagonal branch.
39:
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117:
67:
660:"Coronary artery anomalies overview: The normal and the abnormal"
239:, then passes anteriorward between that pulmonary artery and the
1057:
904:
Professional
Paramedic, Volume I: Foundations of Paramedic Care
123:
ramus interventricularis anterior arteriae coronariae sinistrae
870:(1st ed.). Jones & Bartlett Publishers. p. 819.
318:
Distal: from middle segment to apex, or in some cases beyond.
934:
Carlos S Restrepo; Dianna M. E. Bardo (1 January 2011).
200:
anterior interventricular branch of left coronary artery
18:
Anterior interventricular branch of left coronary artery
996:"How Kevin Smith Survived a 'Widow-Maker' Heart Attack"
827:
Multiple Lead ECGs: A Practical
Analysis of Arrhythmias
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580:. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. p. 283.
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402:chronic blockages or trying to open them up with
800:, Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing,
547:, Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing,
898:Richard Beebe; Jeff Myers (11 December 2009).
792:Wilson, Alexander; Bhutta, Beenish S. (2022),
539:Wilson, Alexander; Bhutta, Beenish S. (2022),
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970:"TV newsman Tim Russert dies of heart attack"
411:, as well as the near-death of film director
8:
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339:. The LAD typically supplies 45ā55% of the
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868:Paramedic Practice Today: Above and Beyond
862:Barbara J. Aehlert; Robert Vroman (2011).
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574:Topol, Eric J.; Califf, Robert M. (2007).
210:. It supplies the anterior portion of the
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270:The LAD gives off two types of branches:
448:The arch of the aorta, and its branches.
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436:Coronary arteries (labeled in red text)
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1017:"Surviving a Widow-Maker Heart Attack"
759:AJR. American Journal of Roentgenology
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512:This article incorporates text in the
177:
29:
7:
235:It first passes at posterior to the
577:Textbook of Cardiovascular Medicine
218:of this artery is often called the
976:from the original on June 24, 2008
824:Lewis, Kathryn (1 December 2009).
484:Human heart with coronary arteries
251:. In 78% of cases, it reaches the
25:
906:. Cengage Learning. p. 764.
794:"Anatomy, Thorax, Coronary Sinus"
541:"Anatomy, Thorax, Coronary Sinus"
247:, along which it descends to the
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830:. Cengage Learning. p. 10.
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245:anterior interventricular sulcus
968:Morgan, David (June 13, 2008).
612:Ropers, D. (12 February 2002).
192:left anterior descending artery
33:Left anterior descending artery
356:Right: The same patient after
1:
222:due to a high risk of death.
520:of the 20th edition of
1532:
1454:Posterior intercostal 3ā11
664:World Journal of Radiology
496:Heart coronary territories
368:
204:anterior descending branch
1401:Posterior intercostal 1ā2
1015:Kearl, Mary (June 2009).
172:
49:
37:
1190:Left anterior descending
1048:Anatomy figure: 20:03-08
1042:Anatomy photo:20:09-0102
407:Washington Bureau Chief
940:. Thieme. p. 188.
333:interventricular septum
284:interventricular septum
101:interventricular septum
1516:Arteries of the thorax
735:Cite journal requires
361:
293:and the anterolateral
220:widow-maker infarction
174:Anatomical terminology
1121:Ligamentum arteriosum
677:10.4329/wjr.v8.i6.537
631:10.1161/hc0602.102020
369:Further information:
349:
249:notch of cardiac apex
206:) is a branch of the
1372:Perforating branches
1357:Anterior intercostal
1289:Right common carotid
1173:Posterior descending
1140:Coronary circulation
380:left coronary artery
335:, and anterolateral
208:left coronary artery
78:Left coronary artery
1397:Highest intercostal
1392:Costocervical trunk
1385:superior epigastric
1367:Pericardiacophrenic
1331:Carotid bifurcation
1004:. 26 February 2018.
771:10.2214/AJR.06.1295
27:Artery of the heart
362:
87:Septals, diagonals
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1471:
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1352:Internal thoracic
947:978-1-60406-186-4
913:978-1-4283-2345-2
877:978-0-323-08535-9
423:Additional images
331:, apex, anterior
253:apex of the heart
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16:(Redirected from
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1464:Superior phrenic
1314:Internal carotid
1309:External carotid
1284:Right subclavian
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1237:Descending aorta
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1107:Pulmonary artery
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237:pulmonary artery
180:edit on Wikidata
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1321:Carotid body
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1021:. Retrieved
1019:. AOL Health
1010:
1001:Live Science
999:
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978:. Retrieved
963:
951:. Retrieved
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917:. Retrieved
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881:. Retrieved
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841:. Retrieved
826:
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728:cite journal
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591:. Retrieved
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460:Heart attack
417:
392:heart attack
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260:aortic sinus
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143:A12.2.03.202
122:
1444:Mediastinal
1262:Aortic arch
1252:Aortic body
1232:Aortic arch
972:. Reuters.
618:Circulation
600:perforator.
413:Kevin Smith
409:Tim Russert
404:angioplasty
384:widow maker
382:. The name
376:Widow maker
365:Widow maker
358:reperfusion
313:angiography
241:left atrium
112:Identifiers
1505:Categories
1439:Esophageal
1421:Descending
1343:subclavian
843:6 November
811:2023-01-05
798:StatPearls
593:6 November
558:2023-01-05
545:StatPearls
502:References
329:myocardium
129:Acronym(s)
97:myocardium
1459:Subcostal
1451:parietal:
1434:Bronchial
1431:visceral:
400:bypassing
396:platelets
276:diagonals
226:Structure
1377:terminal
1220:Sections
1158:AV nodal
1153:SA nodal
1085:Arteries
1023:June 22,
980:June 13,
974:Archived
806:32491498
779:17515392
720:30844189
696:27358682
640:11839639
553:32491498
518:page 547
323:Function
302:Segments
266:Branches
216:Blockage
99:, apex,
92:Supplies
84:Branches
64:Location
1495:Anatomy
1087:of the
953:2 March
919:2 March
883:2 March
687:4919754
272:septals
59:Details
1481:Portal
1362:Thymic
1163:Atrial
944:
910:
874:
850:death.
834:
804:
777:
718:
694:
684:
638:
584:
551:
526:(1918)
231:Course
194:(also
74:Source
1423:aorta
1212:Aorta
1133:Heart
1112:Right
1100:Lungs
1093:chest
1089:torso
516:from
202:, or
178:[
118:Latin
68:Heart
1341:Left
1299:Left
1117:Left
1091:and
1025:2009
982:2008
955:2015
942:ISBN
921:2015
908:ISBN
900:"34"
885:2015
872:ISBN
864:"22"
845:2014
832:ISBN
802:PMID
775:PMID
741:help
716:PMID
692:PMID
636:PMID
595:2014
582:ISBN
549:PMID
278:.
274:and
190:The
167:3862
155:4143
138:TA98
107:(LV)
767:doi
763:188
682:PMC
672:doi
626:doi
622:105
196:LAD
162:FMA
150:TA2
132:LAD
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