 MARCH 26 • 2020 | 43

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be evaluated in the ER much 
more urgently than I likely 
would have. Without family 
support, I could have died 
or been left with permanent 
brain damage. 
In my case, the entirety 
of my left coronary artery, 
which provides blood flow 
to the main part of the heart 
that drives its ability to 
pump, tore. This led not only 
to a massive heart attack, but 
eventually heart failure as 
well. 
When I woke up four days 
later, after being intubated 
in the cardiac ICU, I learned 
that the interventional 
cardiology team saved my 
life by placing six stents in 
the artery and a pump in 
my heart called an Impella, 
all while my family waited 
for six hours in the hall 
wondering if I would die on 
the table. Even after I lived 
through the cath lab (no 
small feat, given that I coded 
three times and had to be put 
on an emergency ventilator), 
they gave me a less than a 
10% chance of making it 
through the first night. 

LIVING WITH THE 
AFTER-EFFECTS
The first person I spoke 
to when I awoke was a 
representative from palliative 
care, and her first question 
was whether I wanted the 
plug pulled in the event I had 
to be intubated again. My 
medical team did not think 
my heart was going to last. 
When I woke up in the 
ICU on the ventilator, I was 
too overwhelmed and ill to 
think. Once they told me 
how sick I was, I became 
terrified and desperately 
wanted my old life back. I 

could no longer stand, walk 
or even wipe myself, and I 
started quickly filling with 
fluid because my heart was 
not working properly. I 
became part of an alarming 
statistic that most young 
women are not even aware of 
— a heart attack victim due 
to SCAD.
Women my age are often 
quickly diagnosed with 
anxiety, esophageal spasm or 
acid reflux when we report 
chest pain. While more 
common, these conditions 
do not take away from the 
fact that SCAD and other 
serious forms of heart 
disease can and do happen 
to young women. Even when 
a heart attack is recognized, 
SCAD is still often under- 
or misdiagnosed and 
mismanaged. 
If anything, I am 
emblematic of the 
importance of recognizing 
the symptoms. I was told if I 
had stayed home 10 minutes 
longer during the onset of 
my second heart attack, I 
would have died. I also had 
a massive outpouring of 
support from family and 
friends, which helped carry 
me through the physical and 
emotional stress and conjure 
the strength needed to begin 
to heal. 
I’
m one of the lucky ones, 
and I know that many are not 
this fortunate. The Michigan 
SCAD support groups call 
the women who have not 
survived “
Angel Survivors.”
Every day now, I waiver 
between my desire to live life 
to its fullest and the tough 
recognition that my life is 
absolutely not the same. I’
m 
one-year post-incident. I’
m 
out of the hospital, but I 

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