I was a fit and healthy 40-year-old who ran regularly and had a young child when my SCAD happened in May 2023. Just two days before my SCAD I was running in Vienna.
I remember reaching to make a cup of tea and having a funny feeling in my chest. I sat down with my husband and son and the pain didn’t go away. I went and lay down on my bed and it still didn’t go so my husband finally rang an ambulance. We thought it may be stomach related like bad trapped wind.
The ambulance came and the crew checked me over, my vitals were all OK and they suggested I go to A&E to just make sure as the hospital could do a blood test to check things.
We went to A&E, they took my vitals and I had a blood test and was transferred to a day clinic. I waited all day, from 9am to 6pm, had another blood test with no results.
I chased up on a few occasions but was told to wait.
With my son at home, I decided to leave at 6pm. I was discharged and given some tablets which I refused as I had no idea what I needed them for. At that time consultants were changing over and my husband explained to the new one what had happened. She said I could be very ill and should stay in. She said she’d call us if she found out anything.
After we got home, we had a call at 10pm telling me to go back to hospital as the troponin test results were in and confirmed I’d had a heart attack.
We went back into A&E and there was a consultant waiting for me to take me to the cardiology ward. I received a lot of apologies and was given a room.
The next day was Friday and I had an angiogram and spoke to a few consultants as they couldn’t decide if I’d had a stroke or something else. I was told I needed more tests, but these wouldn’t be done until the following week. Again, thinking of my son and with no real answers I discharged myself with the hope that I would get an outpatient scan.
I went home, this time I took the aspirin with me. I took it easy but felt fine.
It was on the Monday when I was resting and working on my laptop that I learnt I wasn’t booked in for a follow-up scan and it would take some time. I remember thinking about work and getting stressed and I had another heart attack. This one was taking no prisoners, all my limbs curled inwards and all I could think was ‘breathe’. Luckily my husband came in the room, rang for an ambulance and gave me four aspirin.
The ambulance didn’t come immediately, I think it turned up about one and a half hours after my attack and it had subsided, I think because of the aspirin. My husband took me to hospital and I was admitted to the cardiology ward straight away and monitored. The next day I had a CT scan and SCAD was confirmed the day after. When I was discharged I was given the details for Beat SCAD to find out more.
I remember it being such a blur and having many of my questions answered by the site with loads of support from everyone. Debbie (Beat SCAD Trustee) was amazing, sharing links to various things that helped to explain the chest pain I was having and telling me about talking therapy options to help with the emotional side of things.
What followed was a long journey of recovery. In the early days I couldn’t sleep for fear of having a heart attack and I think, for me, the not knowing why it happened made it hard to accept and move on. I suffered with PTSD, anxiety, I became a hermit and I quit my job to give myself time to heal.
It took three months for the tear to heal and another three months to get over the PTSD etc.
I started work again in January 2024 and began my running journey again. I went on my first run in March 2024 and a year after my SCAD was running in Split. I’m determined to try things I’ve always wanted to do – recently I’ve climbed Jacob’s ladder in Somerset and tried paddleboarding!
Fundraising
I really wanted to run the Big Half for Beat SCAD (7 September 2025) because it was the charity and the Facebook patient group that gave me so much knowledge to learn about the condition and supported me on my recovery. I think it is so vital to spread awareness and invest in new literature and research centres.
My half isn’t until September I’m not fully in training mode yet, but I am working on my weekly running routine to ensure I’m set up for success.
As part of my fundraising, I have a cake run planned for February and a charity pizza night in May.
Please support Marie by donating on her fundraising page