The fourth Beat SCAD Conference took place in Leicester on 14 October and celebrated 10 years of UK SCAD research.
We welcomed 130 delegates, including 70 SCAD patients, their families and friends, and healthcare professionals and researchers.
The theme of the day was The Power of Patients and Research as a Driver for Change and Trustee Chair Rebecca Breslin kicked off the day recalling the first meetings between patients and researchers in 2013 that led to the UK SCAD research project being set up.
Dr David Adlam, who is leading the research, discussed what we now know about SCAD after 10 years of research. He also announced that two new SCAD clinics have been created in Scotland and London.
Professor Lis Neubeck, Head of the Centre for Cardiovascular Health at Edinburgh Napier University, then outlined what we know about physical and mental recovery from SCAD and the need to create a SCAD-specific cardiac rehab programme.
Many SCAD patients are also diagnosed with Fibromuscular Dysplasia (FMD) and Dr Tina Chrysochou, Consultant Nephrologist at Salford Royal and UK lead for the UK FMD study, provided a review of what FMD is, how it is identified and what SCAD patients should know about it.
Dr Adlam then discussed the research, how it began and how collaboration has become a key element, with researchers and clinicians across the world working together to investigate all aspects of SCAD.