SARASOTA, Fla. – Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection (SCAD) Research, Inc. is hosting its first SCADaddle 5K run and walk on Saturday, April 14 to raise awareness and money for further education and research into SCAD.
The timed 5K run and walk will begin at 8 a.m. at Payne Park, located at 2050 Adams Lane in Sarasota, on a two-lap course. Immediately following the 5K run and walk, a kids’ fun run will take place, where all participants will receive a medal. A silent auction and refreshments will be available after all the activities.
Register by March 31 at https://www.firstgiving.com/event/scadresearch/2018-SW-FL-5K-SCADaddle to reserve this year’s t-shirt. Tickets are $30 for participants ages 12 and older and $15 for children ages 6 – 11.
SCAD is an uncommon and poorly understood type of heart attack, which sometimes leads to an abrupt death. It occurs without warning when a tear forms in one of the blood vessels in the heart.
“Raising research dollars is critical to learn why and how this happens and to also discover the genetic link that may be associated with SCAD,” said event organizer, Tracee Murphy who is a SCAD survivor. Murphy, a fit 48-year-old woman, had no risk factors for heart disease before she suffered the attack while at a business meeting in October 2016. “As research findings are published through the Mayo Clinic, it will greatly help to raise awareness in our local medical community and hopefully save lives.”
SCAD is the No. 1 cause of heart attacks in healthy women under 50, pregnant women and new mothers. Eighty percent more common in women than men, it can also affect men. The condition can reoccur and be fatal.
Three local cardiologists saw Murphy, and none of them could identify what had happened to her. After seeing a TV broadcast on SCAD, she traveled to the Cleveland Clinic and was officially diagnosed and properly treated three months after her heart attack.
Research is needed to identify the causes and best treatment options, and SCAD Research conducts SCADaddle 5Ks in California, Illinois and Pennsylvania, raising $635,000 for the Mayo Clinic study to date.
The organization’s mission is to raise funds to support the most promising SCAD research and to bring awareness, dissemination of knowledge and research findings to the bedside of patients with SCAD.