Spontaneous dissection of coronary arteries: "They told me I would die if I had a baby"

This is a rare disorder that causes a heart attack and often affects young women: spontaneous dissection of coronary arteries (DEAC).

This occurs when a tear forms in one of the heart's blood vessels. This can block blood flow by causing a heart attack, abnormal heart rhythm or sudden death.

Doctors often advise women who survive one of these events not to have children because of the risk of recurrence.

Hayley Martin, 47, remembers very well the morning when his life changed forever .

"I woke up with great pain." I put my hands on my head and I bathed. I immediately knew that I had a heart attack, "she told the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire program. [19659009] "A heart attack took away my speech and another gave me back. "

Hayley was 38 years old and in good health after undergoing spontaneous dissection of the coronary arteries.

Until then, the disorder had gone unnoticed and it had never been diagnosed.

But DEAC is the leading cause of heart attack in women of reproductive age, aged 30 to 50 years.

And this happens many times with no history of heart disease or risk factors.

Upon arrival at the hospital, Hayley, who lives in Cheshire, England, feared the worst.

"May I remember what I said [aux médecins]:" Am I dying? "And they just repeated," We try to do everything we can but nothing works. "

" Devalued as a Woman "

Hayley survived, but like many women with DEAC, one told her not to She had to get pregnant because of the risk of another heart attack

"That's another thing they stole from me, I prefer not to think about it because leads on a path of sadness, "she says.

" I felt devalued. , as a woman, as a failure, as if it was my fault. "

What is a Spontaneous Coronary Dissection (DEAC)?

• The DEAC is a cardiac disorder that is often not diagnosed.
• It mainly affects women sometimes during or shortly after pregnancy
• Menopause, extreme stress and exercise are also badociated
• During a heart attack, a tear or scar occurs suddenly in one of the arteries, coronary arteries blocking neo blood circulation
• May cause death, heart failure, cardiac arrest and require cardiac bypbad

Source: Cardiovascular Research Unit Biomedical of Leicester, England

A clinic of Chelsea Hospital and Westminster hospitals in London helps women with DEAC to get pregnant and have a baby

This is the first center of its kind in the world headed by the cardiologist Abi Al Hussaini.

Dr. Al-Hussaini badyzes the cardiac damage caused by DEAC and examines the medication taken by the patient, generally reducing the amount of medication she takes.

With this information, she informs the patient of the risks badociated with her pregnancy.

The intention, she says, is that the patient makes an informed decision to become pregnant or not.

If she decides to go forward, the patient is referred to the "high risk pregnancy team", who will monitor her throughout the pregnancy.

"I have seen many patients in recent years who were unhappy because they had been told that they could not have children ", explains the cardiologist.

the reasons I created the clinic, to give these patients the right advice and allow them to make an informed decision. "

Acute Pain

One of the first women to have helped the clinic was Julie Murphy, 40.

Shortly before her honeymoon, in 2013, Julie began to feel bad, as if she had the flu. The symptoms worsened during his vacation in Kenya

One day, while he was swimming, he felt a sharp pain in his chest. Back home, he underwent heart tests and "the next day he found out that he had a heart attack"

The days and weeks that followed were very difficult.

"All the medications that you've given me really make me weak, and I could not even go up the stairs when I came back from the hospital, it was really hard to understand what was going on pbaded, "he says.

Like Hayley, Julie had learned that she could not have children. But after starting to participate in a research project of Dr. Al-Hussaini and his first daughter, Holly, was born in 2015 .

She later became the first patient to become pregnant at the clinic. second time. And her second daughter, Bella, was born in April

Despite the hope she gives to her patients, Dr. Al-Hussaini says she has encountered resistance from some doctors around the world in about how to counsel patients. patients

"In the United States, they oppose pregnancy after a heart attack or spontaneous coronary dissection," he says.

"But I think it's because there has not been a lot of research, and more and more studies are going on."

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