August 28, 2017
In the spring of 2014 my 33 year old daughter, Bronwyn, had a two week old baby boy and began complaining of indigestion and shortness of breath. The discomfort would ease but then return. She had some other complaints and because I have heart problems myself, I asked her if her jaw hurt too. When she said it did I recommended she go to the emergency room. She was fortunate enough to have a doctor who was familiar with SCAD and explain to her that she needed a stent. Of course, she was scared! She was just 33 with a new baby boy and a 3 year old daughter. She has followed her doctor’s advice , takes her meds as prescribed, and says that cardiac rehab was a life saver.
Last week my 44 year old daughter, Christi,had the same attack. She had a migraine and began experiencing chest pains. Her husband took her to the ER and she actually went into cardiac arrest but only required one shock to regain rhythm. She also received a stent and was fortunate to have a doctor with experience with SCAD. She is home now and we are all grateful she paid attention and recognized the signs of a heart attack.
Both daughters had the dissection in the circumflex artery. We had been told Bronwyn’s attack was postpartum related. We don’t know why my older daughter has also experienced the same attack. My other two children , Bronwyn’s fraternal twin sister and my 29 year old son, will be examined by a cardiologist.