A Change of Heart: April 2012

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Patient-Funded Research: First Annual SCAD Walk

In case the new big widget on the right side of the page wasn't a hint, just about one month from today, I'm participating in the First Annual Walk for SCAD Research, in Naperville, IL.

As my longtime readers know, Mayo Clinic has started research on spontaneous coronary artery dissections, and those of us who've had and survived a SCAD are motivated to help them keep that research going.

One brave family, the Alicos, has started a foundation, SCAD Research, Inc., in the wake of their loved one's death from a SCAD a little over a year ago. The SCAD Walk is their brainchild, and I'm happy to support it.

They've put together some info on some approximate research costs, so I've set my personal fundraising goal at $500, which is the average cost for the staff time for a detailed review and data abstraction of one SCAD patient's medical records.

Another SCAD survivor, Teri, designed this logo for us:

So that's what I'll be doing the first weekend in May. Lovely time for a walk.

Why am I doing this?

In March of 2009 I had a heart attack. It was as much a surprise to me as it was to the doctors; I don't have any risk factors--no high blood pressure, no diabetes, no clogged arteries, no family history; plus I'm a young (in cardiac terms) female who exercises. Definitely NOT the usual suspect for a heart attack.

But tell that to my body--I had one anyway. Turns out that I experienced a rare thing called a Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection. Don't google the term unless you're prepared to be depressed by mortality rates and statistics, and the fact that doctors really have no clue about what causes some people to have them.

The bright side is that my toast landed butter side up, and I'm still here. In 2009 I put together a one-shot fanzine called A Change of Heart; you can get a PDF copy of it from efanzines.com here. This blog is an extension of that fanzine and an effort to reach more people, both in and out of of the fannish science fiction community.

If you want to read my story from the beginning, I suggest starting with this link to my wonderful husband Paul's journal:

Laura Had A Heart Attack Monday Morning.

He kept up a pretty good running commentary of what was happening while I was still in the hospital, and it starts there. The "Next" and "Previous" links move to later and earlier entries, detailing our experiences.

In October, 2010, I competed in and finished the Chapel Hill Ramblin' Rose Triathlon. These are pictures Paul took of me riding my bike and running (he couldn't get into the pool).