What to know about SCAD, a less common type of heart attack that disproportionately affects women

Robin Eaton wants women to trust their gut when it comes to their heart. 

In November 2023, the 46-year-old survived a spontaneous coronary artery dissection, or SCAD — a less common type of heart attack that disproportionately affects women.

“I started having intense pain in my chest. My arms were tingly and my back hurt,” she told CBS News of her early symptoms. 

After calling 911, paramedics said her vital signs and EKG were normal and she wasn’t having a heart attack. But later, the pain got more intense, so she headed to the emergency room. 

“It was very, very scary because all of a sudden there’s the room is just filled with doctors and nurses,” she said.

While a typical heart attack is caused by heavy plaque buildup in the arteries, a SCAD is a tear in the heart’s artery wall.

“It’s actually bleeding inside the artery wall, sort of like a bruise inside the artery, and that bruise can get so big that it blocks blood flow. When the heart is not getting enough blood flow, there can be damage,” explained Dr. Harmony Reynolds, director of the Soter Center for Women’s Cardiovascular Research at NYU Langone Health.

According to the American Heart Association, among adult women age 20 year and older, nearly 45% are living with some form of cardiovascular disease.

Reynolds wants other women to follow Eaton’s example.

“When there’s chest discomfort or another symptom that you think might be heart attack, and it’s going on for 10 or 15 minutes or more, we need to call 911 and get to a hospital,” she said.

Eaton said when it happened she was the healthiest she’d been in years, having just run a 5K the week before. 

Tests showed she has a condition that increases her risk for SCAD. She was treated with medication and cardiac rehab.

“Had I just listened to the paramedics, my kids would’ve come home and I would not have been here today,” she said.