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Wear The Gown: Treating a life-threatening widowmaker heart attack

When treating heart attacks, even seconds matter.

SAN ANTONIO — Every 40 seconds, someone in the U.S. has a heart attack. That's about 800,000 every year. In this Wear The Gown, we learn the signs of a widowmaker heart attack, and what surgeons do to keep heart attack patients alive.

"The heart attacks that are most concerning, the kind that causes a large amount of damage to the heart vessel, colloquially we call the widowmaker, which is the proximal left anterior descending artery," said Dr. Anand Prasad, the Director of the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory at University Hospital within the University Health system

He told us widowmaker heart attacks are often deadly. "When that artery is blocked, it can lead to a large amount of muscle death, and increases the chances that patient may actually expire from their heart attack," Dr. Prasad said.

When the left anterior descending artery is completely blocked, surgeons typically put a balloon and then a stent in the artery to expand it, which opens the artery, pushing the blot clotting blockage out and restoring blood flow. The faster this is done, the better the outcome for the patient.

Some common symptoms of a heart attack include chest discomfort or pain, upper body and stomach pain, shortness of breath and lightheadedness, sweating and nausea, and especially in women, pain in the back, neck, or jaw.

Dr. Prasad said when you see these signs, act quickly. He told us, "The longer that goes by with lack of blood flow to the heart, the more damage that occurs. Sometimes, if too much time goes by, the heart damage can be irreparable."

Because family history is a major risk factor when it comes to heart disease, education is key. "If a family member has had a heart attack, they should reach out to their siblings, their parents, to their children, educate those around them about heart disease because it can run in families," Dr. Prasad said.

For more information about family health call 210-358-3045. You can also find the rest of Wear The Gown stories, just go to WearTheGown.com.

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