topic Re: SCAD Heart Attack in Wellness

SCAD Heart Attack

software — Wed, 09 May 2018 20:32:40 GMT

I apologize if this has been hashed out.

In the plant diet thread that was closed there was a mention of women's arteries being smaller than a man's. Not enough research has been done on women to learn to recognize and properly treat heart problems.

This is from WEBMD

Unlike a more typical heart attack caused by a rupture of plaque in the arteries, a SCAD heart attack starts with a tear in the wall of an otherwise normal artery. The tear tunnels within the wall of the artery, and its effect blocks the artery and blood flow to the heart muscles, leading to a heart attack.

Although SCAD causes a small percentage of heart attacks overall, it’s responsible for 40% of heart attacks in women under the age of 50. And it mostly happens to women -- more than 90% of SCAD patients are female.

“This is an important cause of heart attacks among younger people, and it has really only been in the past 4 or 5 years that our thinking on it has changed. For the past 100 years, we had been missing it,” says Sharonne N. Hayes, MD, of the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota -- a renowned SCAD researcher.

Many researchers have been rushing to learn more about SCAD and are starting to better understand how it works and how to treat it. The American Heart Association released the first scientific statement about the condition in February. The 35-page document reviews relevant research and says, among other things, that conservative treatment is generally best. There isn’t yet enough high-quality evidence on the condition to write guidelines for treatment.

Still, Hayes says the statement is badly needed to make people aware of it and improve diagnosis rates. SCAD patients are generally healthy and don’t have or do the usual things that can lead to heart attacks -- like smoking, diabetes, or being overweight -- so SCAD is often misdiagnosed and may lead to treatment that can cause more artery damage.

“SCAD is happening to a group of women who appear healthy, are thin, and have no risk factors. So even though they have classic heart attack symptoms, they are often being misdiagnosed,” Hayes says. She says like Shockey, many SCAD patients are sent home from hospitals in the middle of a heart attack that isn’t discovered for days."

You can do more research on this diagnosis, but this tells me what can happen when the medical community doesn't take women's symptoms seriously. If you don't fit the same criteria as a man having a heart attack, you may be misdiagnosed. (older, out of shape, overweight)

Re: SCAD Heart Attack

software — Wed, 09 May 2018 20:35:39 GMT

I would also like to request to limit posts to heart disease--diagnosis & treatment, not diets.

Re: SCAD Heart Attack

151949 — Wed, 09 May 2018 21:21:43 GMT

Only recently has the medical community begun to recognize that women do not have the same heart attack symptoms as men. This will be great for women as they will start treatment much sooner. Previously , they were often brushed off , esp. by old fashioned doctors, so it wasn't until they had a massive attack they finally were properly treated, and by then the heart muscle was irreparably damaged. Women would present to their doctor with neck pain, shoulder pain , middle of their back pain and no one ever suspected it was heart related.

Re: SCAD Heart Attack

hckynut — Wed, 09 May 2018 21:48:17 GMT

Hi @software,

I have not heard the term SCAD before concerning heart attacks, but I am not as current as others here on some heart issues.

I have said on this forum many times in past years, that I never felt that females being checked for heart symptoms, were/are treated the same as a male counterpart. I had read this, and also spoke with many ladies during my many Cardiac Rehab Classes, about this very topic.

My suggestion to the ladies was to demand things from an ER doctor they feel is necessary, to diagnose if their symptoms are from a heart attack. Why many ER doctors did/do this? I have no clue.

Always good learning more about all types of CAD, causes and symptoms. With heart attacks comes what many a Cardiologist will say: "Time is muscle. The longer it takes to treat a heart attack, the more heart muscle lost". Unfortunately, unlike many other human muscles that can be rebuilt and strengthened, the heart is not one of them.

Nice of you to put up this info.

hckynut(john)

Re: SCAD Heart Attack

software — Thu, 10 May 2018 02:33:22 GMT

Thanks for your input, John

I was shocked by the statistics, if they are correct

A local resident shared her story. Young mother, not feeling real well but brushed it off as stress -- work, kids, etc.

Then the symptoms started, she was diagnosed with GI problems.

When she finally got the pain in her neck & arm, she was properly diagnosed at the ER but at what cost? This was over a month ago, she's still flat on her back, recovering at home

43 years old

@hckynut

Re: SCAD Heart Attack

Trinity11 — Thu, 10 May 2018 15:53:43 GMT

@software I posted about women having smaller arteries.

Women who are thin, eat healthy and exercise are often over-looked in the ER. Both my heart attacks I was met with a dismissive staff telling me I was too young, thin and looked too healthy on arrival. My cardiac enzymes proved I was having a heart attack. Treatment was delayed as the hospital had no Cath lab and I had to be transferred to one that did. I ended up in heart failure for months with my first heart attack.

My assessment of women and heart disease is that the medical community have a lot of work ahead of them to catch up with how they treat men. My arteries are extremely small making going through the wrist for an angiogram impossible. I ended up with a large hematoma because the first doctor I had kept trying and could not do it skillfully. Thankfully, I found a good doctor since who I believe has saved my life.

i only tell this very personal story to warn other female patients that if you feel something is wrong, don't be shy and ask for help..

Re: SCAD Heart Attack

cherry — Thu, 10 May 2018 16:17:46 GMT

I had a heart cath and everything looked good, no plaque problems . However, the Dr told my husband, my veins are narrow..

Re: SCAD Heart Attack

Laura14 — Thu, 10 May 2018 16:34:27 GMT

You're okay @cherry. Veins and arteries are two separate blood carriers.

Based on what @software posted it is the arteries to worry about not veins which is what I've always heard concerning any type of heart attack even "broken heart syndrome" which is about chemical imbalance and not blockage. Even that causes a narrowing of the arteries which precipitates an attack so I wouldn't worry in terms of your heart. Needles maybe but not your ticker.

Re: SCAD Heart Attack

Trinity11 — Thu, 10 May 2018 16:45:05 GMT

@cherry wrote:
I had a heart cath and everything looked good, no plaque problems . However, the Dr told my husband, my veins are narrow..

@cherry, for the wrist catherization they go through the arterial artery not a vein. That's where a lot of women have smaller arteries than men.

Re: SCAD Heart Attack

cherry — Thu, 10 May 2018 17:07:25 GMT

Maybe it is my artery that is small, and not the vein

Re: SCAD Heart Attack

Trinity11 — Thu, 10 May 2018 17:23:37 GMT

@cherry wrote:
Maybe it is my artery that is small, and not the vein

@cherry...if you were told this after the cardiac catherization, they probably meant your arteries. An offshoot of my left anterior descending artery could not be opened because at the time it was too small to put a stent or balloon. This new doctor I have was able to open it. Skill is everything with this type of medicine.

Re: SCAD Heart Attack

hckynut — Thu, 10 May 2018 18:14:06 GMT

Hi @Trinity11,

I wasn't aware of your hematoma from a Heart Cath. You may have mentioned it, but I did not see it. Not sure if you read of my experience, or I just may not have mentioned it.

My experience came because of an Echo reading, and also a follow-up to a negative looking treadmill stress test. Was put into the hospital while I was still on Warfarin for my PE episodes, thus has to wait days until my INR/ProTime numbers came down low enough where my Cardiologist felt was safe enough to do the Heart Cath.

Expected maybe a 3-5 day hospital stay, but it was not to be. Had the Heart Cath(groin) done on a Friday. Monday morning while my GP was visiting me, I told him about a pain in my upper leg. When I looked there was nothing suspicious looking, just some pain. When he checked it out he too saw nothing of concern.

By the time we were done talking and he was exiting my room, I called to him that "I was going to pass out". Next thing I remember was me in my room bed with several nurses and 2 doctors beside my bed. They were discussing which course to take because of a big hematoma at the Heart Cath entry point. They kept measuring it to see if it was getting bigger. First time I could see it, from my vantage point it looked like the size of a small orange(clementine).

They were discussing(what I can remember from that live time) whether this was caused by a blood clot, or by the artery being damaged(I was back on Warfarin after my Heart Cath). What I was told once I was "out of the woods"(my BP was no longer 60/35), was they were debating opening up the hematoma or waiting to see if my body would "absorb(for lack of the medical terminology)". They chose the "waiting", which turned out to be the correct decision.

My 3-5 day stay ended up being 18 days because of this life threatening event. I spent every day with an ice bag between my leg and groin during those days, and for months after I got back home. It was many months before my groin returned to normal with the help of mucho ice.

I was fortunate to have still been in the hospital when this happened, as after a Heart Cath, if no problems detected, a person is discharged after 48 hours. I was still there while my Pulmonologist was waiting for my INR to get above a 2.0 reading, it was a 1.2 before they would perform the Heart Cath.

All 4 of my Heart Cath procedures were via the groin, not sure if the wrist route was being done back in that earlier year.

Like myself, sometimes telling a very personal story, like you have done here, can benefit others greatly, and I thank you for doing so. My hope is that you are in a good place health wise now, and having room to improve.

Yesterday I had a setback, but nothing to do with my heart, just something that kept me from my day of ice skating, and may take time to heal before I go skating again.

Take good care of yourself my friend,

JOhn(hckynut)

Re: SCAD Heart Attack

Trinity11 — Thu, 10 May 2018 18:17:31 GMT

@hckynut, sorry to read about the set-back regarding putting your beloved skating on hold.

Yes, I had a large hematoma. The idiot kept trying to get in but an assistant told him to stop. This is the same cretin who never put a stent in one of the arteries he claimed to, falsified it and changed his report when my new doctor asked to see it. He was let go of the hospital network and fired from the practice. He is now a holistic doctor. We are not litigious but there are times I wonder about it. That 2nd heart attack never would have happened if he had done what he claimed he had.

Re: SCAD Heart Attack

software — Fri, 11 May 2018 02:03:49 GMT

@Trinity11 wrote:
@software I posted about women having smaller arteries.

Women who are thin, eat healthy and exercise are often over-looked in the ER. Both my heart attacks I was met with a dismissive staff telling me I was too young, thin and looked too healthy on arrival. My cardiac enzymes proved I was having a heart attack. Treatment was delayed as the hospital had no Cath lab and I had to be transferred to one that did. I ended up in heart failure for months with my first heart attack.

My assessment of women and heart disease is that the medical community have a lot of work ahead of them to catch up with how they treat men. My arteries are extremely small making going through the wrist for an angiogram impossible. I ended up with a large hematoma because the first doctor I had kept trying and could not do it skillfully. Thankfully, I found a good doctor since who I believe has saved my life.

i only tell this very personal story to warn other female patients that if you feel something is wrong, don't be shy and ask for help..

Thanks for sharing your story, sorry for your experience.

I know years ago, doctors hesitated to include women in certain studies because they felt their hormonal cycle would skew the results. Heck with that, find a way around it, I say.

But we have made some progress, in the 1960s a complaining woman was given a Valium and sent home.

Re: SCAD Heart Attack

Laura14 — Fri, 11 May 2018 12:47:12 GMT

@software wrote:
@Trinity11 wrote:
@software I posted about women having smaller arteries.

Women who are thin, eat healthy and exercise are often over-looked in the ER. Both my heart attacks I was met with a dismissive staff telling me I was too young, thin and looked too healthy on arrival. My cardiac enzymes proved I was having a heart attack. Treatment was delayed as the hospital had no Cath lab and I had to be transferred to one that did. I ended up in heart failure for months with my first heart attack.

My assessment of women and heart disease is that the medical community have a lot of work ahead of them to catch up with how they treat men. My arteries are extremely small making going through the wrist for an angiogram impossible. I ended up with a large hematoma because the first doctor I had kept trying and could not do it skillfully. Thankfully, I found a good doctor since who I believe has saved my life.

i only tell this very personal story to warn other female patients that if you feel something is wrong, don't be shy and ask for help..

Thanks for sharing your story, sorry for your experience.
I know years ago, doctors hesitated to include women in certain studies because they felt their hormonal cycle would skew the results. Heck with that, find a way around it, I say.

But we have made some progress, in the 1960s a complaining woman was given a Valium and sent home.

@software Unfortunately, times are still the same except instead of a Valium these days it is anitdepressents. My sister was caught up in that until she found a female doctor who listened and knew what perimenopause was and how to deal with it.

Don't be afraid to stick up for yourselves, girls!