Time to Lay the ‘Widow-Maker’ to Rest – Medscape

In 1980, while studying coronary anatomy in medical school, I learned that a heart attack involving the left anterior descending artery was nicknamed the "widow-maker." I thought this was a clever term because it emphasized the importance of this artery, the occlusion of which carries a high risk for death. But it incorrectly taught that heart attacks are a man's disease.

By 2022, I assumed that the term was rightfully obsolete. But a few months ago, I received a call from a friend who told me he just had an emergency stent to his "widow-maker." He remembered hearing these words while on the table in the cardiac catheterization lab. He knew that he almost died.

Today, his ejection fraction is normal and he has no physical symptoms, but the words still echo in his brain and he is afraid of dying. He is anxious and has nightmares and trouble concentrating.

Widow-maker: a phrase that seemed so smart while we were students is harmful to our patients.

There is no positive benefit to the patient when we tell him that he had a widow-maker. "Hey, you almost died!" These words are threatening and cast the patient as a victim who has little control of his health.

The term widow-maker also perpetuates the myth that heart disease is a male ailment. Cardiovascular disease is the most common cause of death for women, yet only 56% recognize it as their chief health threat. When women arrive at the ER with an ST-elevation myocardial infarction, they are less likely than men to get reperfusion therapy and they experience more delays in door-to-balloon time. Women are even less likely than men to receive bystander CPR.

To change these statistics, we need to increase awareness of women's heart disease among women and healthcare providers. Let's start by not saying "widow-maker." The words we speak and the way we say them can heal or harm.

Yes, we want our patients to understand the seriousness of ischemic heart disease so that they can make beneficial lifestyle changes. But the language we use should empower rather than paralyze.

Explaining that coronary heart disease is common in men and women and that lifestyle changes along with interventional and pharmaceutical treatments will help reduce the chance of another event carries a positive message. It's time to finally lay the "widow-maker" to rest.

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About Dr Vivian Kominos

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Time to Lay the 'Widow-Maker' to Rest - Medscape