Help us raise money

Hi friends,

This Saturday I will be walking the 2024 5K West Coast SCADaddle for Research with my team We Got the Beat—my sister Terri, niece Michelle and her 2 year old son Jameson, my nephew Brandon, and my friend Sue. I am so extremely grateful for their support! 

As a 3 x survivor of Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection (SCAD), SCAD research is very near and dear to my heart. It’s been 8 years since I suffered my first life changing SCAD/heart attack followed by two more over the following years. (Thankfully it’s been 2 1/2 years since my most recent one!)

A SCAD heart attack is NOT caused by plaque in your arteries or atherosclerosis from an unhealthy diet. Many who have suffered a SCAD have been athletic, avid runners, gym goers, and otherwise healthy and active women with little or no precursors for heart issues. Being a healthy vegetarian for over 20 years I never thought I’d suffer a heart attack when I turned 50. 

Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection is a sudden tear in one of your coronary arteries (or a hematoma caused by blood pooling between the layers of your artery) due to unknown causes. SCAD happens to mostly women and fewer men and there have been women as young as in their 20’s who have had a SCAD. We need more answers as to why it happens. 

On Friday night Dr. Sharonne Hayes from the Mayo Clinic, MN who is one of the leading researchers of Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection will share their latest research findings with a group of 50 survivors. On Saturday,  Dr. Hayes will be walking alongside SCAD survivors and their family and friends, and those who have lost loved ones to SCAD. My amazing cardiologist, Dr. Jeffrey Cavendish and his family will be walking too. Our goal is to  bring more awareness to SCAD and the under diagnosed type of heart attack it can cause and to raise funds for the Mayo Clinic research (where I am enrolled their SCAD research study.)

Hearts continue to tear as we wait for answers and we need help. Any donation will make a huge difference. 

With gratitude and love from the bottom of my heart,

Donna