These are the six blood clots removed from the major artery of a heavy drinking, chain smoking heart attack patient aged just 30 who luckily survived the potentially fatal condition dubbed the ‘widow-maker’.
The patient, Li Kai, was taken to Wuhan Asia Heart Hospital, in Central China’s Hubei Province, with severe chest pains on 5th January following a night of heavy drinking.
The relatively young patient was stunned to learn that he had suffered a heart attack due to vascular occlusion – blockage of a blood vessel by a clot – in the anterior interventricular branch of the left coronary artery.
Often abbreviated as LAD, the artery is considered the most critical vessel as it supplies more than half the blood received by the left ventricle.
The condition is known as the ‘widow-maker infarction’ due to its low survival rate.
ICU medic Liu Chengwei told local media: “We discovered that his left anterior descending artery was completely blocked by a large quantity of blood clots.
“The LAD is the artery most vital to the function of the heart.”
Cardiothoracic surgeon Liu Daoquan operated on Mr Li and sucked six blood clots from the artery, restoring normal healthy blood flow.
Mr Li is no longer in any life-threatening condition, reports said.
The patient said: “I would never have believed that someone as young as me could suffer a heart attack.”
Doctor Liu Chengwei added: “[Mr Li] has bad habits including drinking and chain-smoking.
“Drinking raises cholesterol levels in the blood, which result in plaque.
“When plaque breaks apart for whatever reason, it can lead to blocked arteries and very serious consequences such as acute myocardial infarctions.”
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Story By: John Feng, Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Asia Wire Report
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