No, it would not. There are usually 3 or more of these heater/cathodes associated with each row so that when one breaks the area immediately under it fades, with the result that the entire top, middle, or bottom section of that row will have faded, but not completely out. These heater/cathodes can be easily seen on a unit that has power but no segments lit and in a darkened room. They appear as faintly glowing lines running across the display. For the unit that I referanced in my response to Erik, it has 13 of these wires.

Hal