August 29, 2013
I am 64 years old and one of my favorite things to do is babysit the grandchildren. I was babysitting 3 of my granddaughters on August 8, 2013. I felt unusually tired, and had back and chest pain throughout the day. But I’d had rotator cuff surgery three months earlier so I thought the pain was just a result of my P.T. for that.
I went to bed early that evening but was awakened 30 minutes later with pain that could not be ignored. I still thought it was just a backache but my husband drove us to the emergency room anyway. They did a cardiac catheterization the next morning. Even though my EKG was normal, my cardiac enzymes were steadily increasing. I was amazed when they told me that I had a SCAD because usually that happens to younger women. Not only was my left anterior descending coronary artery dissected, but I also had a stroke following the cardiac catheterization.
I was in cardiac ICU for five days and am now on clopidogrel and an anticoagulant. I am determined to get past this and start babysitting again!