Originally Posted by
NealH
The LAD is often referred to as the "widow maker". When that artery clogs with resulting cardiac arrest, your chance of survival is very low. Probably somewhere between zero and none.
In the past this statement about chance for survival was true. My second MI was a re-occlusion of the LAD. I actually went into full arrest during catheterization and was hit with the paddles. Boy, that was a real wakeup. In reality the chances of survival from occlusion of the LAD is way better than in the past. The important thing is time.
The odds of surviving an MI in the LAD go down drastically the longer it takes to get it treated. From the time of onset to calling 911 was about five minutes. (I was in denial for the first four minutes) I was getting stented about fifteen minutes after that. It was almost too late.
The doctors have told me that half of cases like me are dead within a year. For me it has been almost two years, and two full centuries.