Beat SCAD Trustees Sarah and Karen (pictured) had a busy day at the London Maternity and Midwifery Festival on 21 January raising awareness of pregnancy-related SCAD (P-SCAD).
The event, at Earl’s Court, attracted more than 600 maternity and midwifery staff and we handed out hundreds of leaflets, including some new ones created especially for the event.
Delegates were very interested in P-SCAD and most had never heard of it. Some midwives told Karen and Sarah (pictured above) that they had seen SCAD patients, and a couple knew of a SCAD fatality at their Trusts.
Current figures estimate that 10% of SCADs are pregnancy-related, and 50% of all post-partum coronary events are due to SCAD.
Sarah said “The emotional response by midwifery professionals to our P-SCAD case studies was moving and sincere. Photographs and stories stick in hearts and minds far better than dry words and statistics ever could. Beat SCAD is so grateful to our survivor community who are willing to tell their stories to raise awareness of SCAD.
“We were thanked by so many midwives for making them aware. Others said they had experienced SCAD first hand in their own Trust. Many midwives say they are over-ruled by doctors when they request a troponin blood test for a woman they suspect may have had a cardiac event. This is an area that Beat SCAD will focus on going forward in our efforts to stop SCAD devastating more families.”
