Kevin Smith
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Genre filmmaker, director, and iconic geek personality Kevin Smith gave fans a scare when he tweeted a picture of himself while in the hospital after experiencing a “massive heart attack.”

Smith was currently in the process of filming his new stand up special “Kevin Smith Live!” when he started experiencing health symptoms. He was scheduled to perform at the Alex Theater at 6pm and 9pm in Glendale, California, Sunday night, and while he was able to complete his first routine, Smith unexpectedly cancelled his second taping and was rushed to the hospital.

As he explained in his tweet, “After the first show this evening, I had a massive heart attack. The Doctor who saved my life told me I had 100% blockage of my LAD artery (aka “the Widow-Maker). If I hadn’t canceled show 2 to go to the hospital, I would’ve died tonight. But for now, I’m still above ground!”

 

To understand how serious Smith condition was, the LAD (nemonic for Left Anterior Descending) artery is the largest blood vessel that supplies oxygenated blood to the heart. If this artery is completely blocked, it can cause a massive heart attack and likely lead to death if not treated immediately (hence the nickname Widow Maker). Once a widow maker heart attack occurs, the blood to the heart stops. If the blood flow is not restored, the heart muscle will die causing a cardiac arrest (aka heart attack) to occur within 10-20 minutes of no circulation which often leads to death.

Fortunately, Smith was able to get to the hospital in time for his life saving procedure and from the looks of his selfie and tweet, he is recovering well enough to reach out to his fans.

Our thoughts and prayers are with Smith as he recuperates.

More to come…