On November 6, 2018 I had a massive SCAD (spontaneous coronary artery dissection) heart attack and went into cardiac arrest 3 times.  That day I experienced the first chest pain of my life and within an hour, my heart stopped.  I had none of the risk factors for traditional heart disease and yet, it still happened. SCAD is not caused by ones' lifestyle, per se, at all. 

I was in and out of the hospital 6 times over the course of 11 months and made a trip out to the Mayo Clinic to see a top specialist who treats SCAD survivors as well. Research to date on SCAD has been limited to data... no real clinical research has been done yet on SCAD, however it is now the biggest cause of heart attacks for pregnant and post partum women and women under 50. 

Almost all of the research to date on heart disease has been done on men, yet hormones plays a big role in SCAD and quite often the traditional approach to treating a heart attack, is not as relevant for us. Research is the key to better understanding what causes SCAD, and importantly how to best treat and prevent it. 

It's difficult enough having a heart attack at 46 after you've led a healthy lifestyle and even more so when many Doctors are not even familiar with SCAD nor do many know how to diagnose and treat it. 

We deserve to be studied.  Heart disease and stroke cause 1 in 3 deaths among women each year - more than all cancers combined.  

Please help me raise funds to begin to change that story so that I and so many other women, can continue to live a full life and be there for the people in our lives who depend on us.