Young Women Are Being Killed By An Under-Diagnosed Heart Condition Called SCAD

SCAD or Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection happens when a bruise or a tear develops in one of the arteries that supply blood to the heart. According to the charity organization Beat SCAD, the condition is usually misdiagnosed as a panic or anxiety attack, and it can attack at any age.

More Awareness

This is the reason why Beat SCAD is at the moment campaigning hard to raise greater awareness of the deadly condition, so it may be identified at an early time. The charity organization also revealed that approximately 90% of the cases affect women, and many of them did not have any risk factors for classic heart disease.

Rebecca Breslin, the chairperson of Beat SCAD, said that the rate of SCAD incidences is still unknown. Based on cases known in the UK in the last couple of years, however, it would seem hundreds of healthy women have been affected by these unusual heart attacks annually. The real number may potentially be much higher because of a lack of awareness. This has largely contributed to lots of misdiagnoses and insufficient reporting.

According to data gathered by the charity, approximately one in ten SCAD cases happens during or within two years after the woman’s pregnancy. Dr. David Adlam, a SCAD researcher, based at Glenfield Hospital in Leicester, said that SCAD is a major cause of heart attacks in or around the time of pregnancy. It is also seen as a significant cause in approximately half of the events during the first few months after pregnancy.

More Research Needed

The charity organization was launched in 2015, and its operations are, in a huge part, managed by survivors. They have been calling for more research into the mysterious ailment and are also calling for the establishment of more clinics that can support SCAD patients.

Miss Breslin, a SCAD survivor whose attack occurred in 2012 when she was 34, said that doctors need to be more knowledgeable about the symptoms of the ailment. Breslin added that since patients are healthy and fit, doctors would often dismiss their complaints like pain in the arm and chest, which are similar to cardiac symptoms. Medical professionals oftentimes would diagnose their conditions as being caused by anxiety or panic attacks. In many cases, these health professionals would often fail to perform simple tests that would rule out any cardiovascular problem.

The SCAD survivor also said that she knows of a lot of people who were sent home in the middle of a heart attack with medication for indigestion. She said that the longer the vital organ is denied sufficient blood and oxygen, the more heart muscles die, which will never recover. This results in reduced heart function.

An official of the British Heart Foundation, Philippa Hobson, agrees that SCAD is an unusual condition that often affects healthy and fit women. She says that it is important that such a condition is identified and treated immediately.