June 6, 2018
I am a 59 year old fit, active, healthy woman who experienced a SCAD event. I awoke in the morning later than usual at 0830 (2 weeks ago) getting ready to play tennis but felt just a little unwell. I had a bit of pressure through my back and shoulders and felt nausea. Also felt a sense of “doom” that I couldn’t shake. I asked a neighbour to drive me to the local emergency clinic and was hooked up onto an ECG and monitored for 20 minutes after which time I went into a full cardiac arrest requiring CPR and 2 shocks from a defibrillator to revive me. It was so fortunate that I was on an emergency bed as there was no delay in administering these measures.
Then I was transferred via ambulance to our hospital an hour or so away and taken into the cath lab with an angiogram at which time it was determined I had SCAD. Shocking to say the least. I eat a very healthy diet, am very physically active but probably have more stress than I realize. I am a chef often working long hours. Also my daughter had a baby 4 days earlier that was VERY stressful for all of us which I believe may have been a trigger point for me. I’m in the very early stages of living with this and am awaiting a follow up with my cardiologist next week so in the meantime I am doing everything I can to manage stress and live my life.
I’m so glad to have found this group and look forward to sharing experiences and support with one another. Thank you for being here.