I had a heart attack on August 8 of this year. I went to emergency after experiencing pain in my chest, just to the right of my sternum. Emergency room found elevated cardiac enzymes and markers on my EKG indicative of a cardiac event. I was transferred to Sutter Roseville, where they performed an angiogram, and discovered a SCAD in a branch of the left circumflex artery. Dr. told me a repair there would be dangerous, so they put me on blood thinners (aspirin and clopidogrel) and sent me home. I was in hospital from Friday midnight until Sunday afternoon.

I went back to emergency on Thursday (8/14) as I was experiencing back pain, and the Drs. office recommended I get checked out. My cardiac enzymes were still elevated, but way lower than they had been just 4 days before, and continued to go down while I was there. They had me do a stress test with CT scan, everything was normal.

So I went home, and have slowly been returning to my normal activities. I am 68 years old, female, eat a balanced healthy diet with no flour or sugar or snacks. I've been eating this way for the past 12 years. My exercise is walking and yoga, and I have returned to these with no problem. I had a followup with the cardiologist after a week, and the next one is scheduled for December. I make sure to meditate for 30 minutes in the morning, which I've been practicing for many years.

I am grateful to have a diagnosis. I had this pain about 10 years ago, but an ER visit gave no explanation, and the pain had subsided by the time they actually looked at me. The doctors this time told me they saw evidence that my body has built branches to facilitate blood supply, presumably from this earlier event.

Would love to read about others experiences with SCAD.