Don't Let SCAD Take Your Life

SCAD Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection - Mayo Clinic

Please, for the love you share with the women in your life, make sure you study this article and tell your physician you are concerned about SCAD.

The Uncommon Type of Heart Attack That Kills Healthy, Young Women, Dr. Joseph Mercola DO, Mercola.com, 8 Mar 2018.

As noted in recent news, the symptoms of an uncommon type of heart attack known as spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD)1 is dangerously easy to overlook, as few SCAD patients have any history of or risk factors for heart disease. SCAD is a leading cause of heart attacks in healthy women under 55; the average age of SCAD patients is 42.

ABC News recounts the stories of two women whose sudden heart attacks were triggered by SCAD.2 Five weeks after giving birth to a healthy baby girl, Maryn Cox suddenly developed troubling symptoms. "It felt like pressure, possibly gas; acid reflux, I wasn't sure what it was. One of my arms went numb, I started getting nauseous; cold sweats,” she says. The symptoms, while common, turned out to be SCAD, a condition few have ever heard of.

While SCAD is a cause of heart attack, it’s different from a heart attack caused by coronary artery disease. Essentially, SCAD occurs when the layers of your blood vessel wall tear apart from each other, trapping blood between the layers. As the blood pools and collects between the layers, your blood vessel gets choked off, killing heart muscle tissue downstream from the blockage, thereby triggering a heart attack.

• Symptoms of an uncommon type of heart attack known as spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD) are easily overlooked, as few SCAD patients have any history of or risk factors for heart disease
• SCAD is a leading cause of heart attacks in healthy women under 55; the average age of SCAD patients is 42. Eighty percent of SCAD patients are women; 20 percent have recently given birth
• SCAD occurs when the layers of your blood vessel wall tear apart from each other, trapping blood between the layers. As the blood collects between the layers, your blood vessel gets choked off, triggering a heart attack
• Most SCAD patients are healthy. Risk factors for the condition include underlying blood vessel conditions such as fibromuscular dysplasia, extreme exercise and severe emotional stress
• Common signs and symptoms of a SCAD-induced heart attack, and current treatment recommendations are included

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Dr. Sharonne Hayes, M.D., Mayo Clinic, SCAD Research Program Update: 2015