View source for Widow maker

{{dablink|For other uses, see [[Widow maker (disambiguation)]].}}
{{Orphan|date=February 2009}}

A '''widow maker''' is a nickname used to describe a highly [[stenotic]] [[left main coronary artery]] or [[Anterior interventricular branch of left coronary artery|proximal left anterior descending coronary artery]] of the [[heart]].

This term is used because if the artery gets abruptly and completely occluded it will cause a massive [[myocardial infarction|heart attack]] that will likely lead to death. The blockage that kills is made up of platelets 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; bypassing chronic blockages or trying to open them up with angioplasty does not prevent heart attack but it can restore blood flow in case of a sudden blockage or heart attack. An example of the devastating results of a complete occlusion of the LAD ([[Left Anterior Descending]]) artery is the sudden death of newsman [[Tim Russert]].

From the minute a widow maker hits, there is a five-minute window of time to get to a hospital or receive emergency care<ref>{{cite web | last = Kearl | first = Mary | authorlink = http://www.aolhealth.com/bio/mary-kearl| title = Surviving a Widow-Maker Heart Attack |  publisher = AOL Health | date = June 2009 | url = http://www.aolhealth.com/condition-center/heart-disease/surviving-a-heart-attack | accessdate = June 2009}}</ref>. 

== References ==
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[[Category:Cardiovascular diseases]]
[[Category:Medical terms]]


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