- Former soccer pro Lindsey Huie had a heart attack caused by SCAD, and is spreading awareness about the condition with the American Heart Association.
- SCAD is a tear in an artery wall of your heart, which can slow or block blood flow.
- Understanding the signs and symptoms of SCAD and receiving treatment right away are critical for treating the condition.
As the coach for multiple youth soccer teams, former soccer pro Lindsey Huie was finishing up one of her daughter’s practices and moving equipment to another field for the next practice.
On her way, she had to climb a steep hill. By the time Huie got to the top of the hill, she was struggling to breathe.
“I [felt] like a piece of paper tore in half in the middle of my chest, and I thought, ‘Gosh, that’s weird. What was that?’ And I just start sweating profusely, and now I feel like an elephant is sitting on my chest, and I’m in so much pain it feels like fire up and inside my chest,” Huie told Healthline.
The discomfort forced her to sit in the middle of the soccer field, which alarmed nearby parents, who suggested they call an ambulance. Afraid to make a scene and scare her children, Huie pleaded to go to urgent care instead of a hospital. There she received an EKG.
“I’m thinking all this time… we’re going to feel so ridiculous when the doctor comes back and says I’m suffering from anxiety or I have heartburn, like we’re all going to be looking like fools,” said Huie.
Suspecting that something serious occurred in her heart, the doctor informed her that she needed to go to the emergency room. While there, tests determined that Huie had a heart attack caused by spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD), a tear in an artery wall of the heart, which can slow or block blood flow.
While researchers aren’t sure what causes SCAD, the American Heart Association (AHA) reports that people who develop the condition are often healthy women with few or no risk factors.
“Some studies have pointed to a hormonal link, showing a greater incidence among postpartum women and women who are experiencing or close to a menstrual cycle,” Dr. Suzanne Steinbaum, preventive cardiologist and expert for the AHA, told Healthline.
Dr. Asim Zaidi, interventional cardiologist at Northwestern Medicine Huntley Hospital, said the occurrence and recurrence rates, causes, outlook, and optimal management of SCAD are uncertain, due to limited evidence available to guide medical professionals caring for people with SCAD.
“Even fewer accessible and reliable sources of information are available to patients and families,” he told Healthline.
Source: healthline