Usually when people think about a heart attack they think of overweight men not healthy younger women such as Karlee Jones.
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Miss Jones was 32 when she experienced an episode of Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection at her home in Orange, in NSW's Central West, in November 2016.
SCAD occurs when an inner layer of one of the blood vessels that feeds the heart tears. Blood seeps between the artery layers, forms a blockage and can slow or block blood flow to the heart, causing angina, heart attack, abnormalities in heart rhythm or sudden death.
At least 90 per cent of SCAD patients are women, most are aged in their 40s and 50s, typically with no traditional cardiovascular risks and some are athletes. Patients also experience it a second time in up to 30 per cent of cases.
"It was a Sunday so I didn't really do much on the weekend, I just got up, had a coffee, went and had a shower and had a pressing chest pain like a weight was on my chest," Miss Jones said.
"I thought I was having a panic attack but it was more painful, I went and laid down and the pain went into both elbows.
"At this stage I thought it's not a panic attack so I rang my mum, she came over and said I'm going to take you to the hospital."
Miss Jones said the pain lasted about 20 minutes and was gone by the time she reached the hospital.
If they get to hospital the survival rate is very good but there are some that don't make it.
- Professor Robert Graham
"I nearly didn't go to the hospital because I was like, 'that was weird', a lot of people are like 'that was pain', and don't worry about it and just carry on," she said.
However, a blood test taken at the hospital showed high levels of troponin, a group of proteins found in heart muscle fibers, which can help detect heart injury so Miss Jones was kept at the hospital overnight.
"The following day I had an angiogram and that's when they found a tear in one of my arteries and the tear caused a blockage," she said.
Although she did not have high blood pressure or high cholesterol Miss Jones said she was placed on several medications including blood thinners to prevent another blockage while her artery healed.
"I was on aspirin until I got pregnant with my son," she said.
Because there have been multiple cases of SCAD among women who recently gave birth, Miss Jones said she was "watched her like a hawk" when she had her son Declan a year ago but there was no recurrence.
To help learn more about it Miss Jones sent her DNA to be included in a research project run by the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute. The findings will soon be released.
Lead researcher Professor Robert Graham said because the usual risk factors don't apply, any woman who experiences symptoms such as a heavy weight on her chest should seek urgent medical attention.
"If they get to hospital the survival rate is very good but there are some that don't make it," Professor Graham said.
Professor Graham said hormonal changes and drops in estrogen play a role in SCAD and many of the patients experience it after giving birth or while going through perimenopause.
I thought I was having a panic attack but it was more painful, I went and laid down and the pain went into both elbows.
- Karlee Jones
"A lot of them have an episode of anxiety or stress, it could be physical like running a marathon or emotional," Professor Graham said.
To learn more about it he said the research institute created stem cells from SCAD patients.
Rather than relying on autopsies he said by creating stem cells from a patient's white blood cells they can make blood vessel cells.
This has allowed scientists to investigate the underlying cause and test therapeutics to see if SCAD can be prevented from occurring again.
"The trouble with disease of a coronary artery is you cannot biopsy a coronary artery," Professor Graham said.
Professor Graham said the institute also identified a genetic marker through DNA testing and the research has been underway for almost six years.
"Up until a few years ago there were very few papers on this," Professor Graham said.
"We got into it because of a lovely lady in Western Australia, she approached me, she wanted to know what was known about it and she started a Facebook page.
"The review has been accepted for publication, it should be online pretty soon."
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