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 the coronary artery (DEAC).

This occurs when a tear forms in one of the heart's blood vessels, which 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 to not have children because of the risk of recurrence.

Hayley Martin, 47, remembers very well in 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

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

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

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

And it often happens with no history of heart disease or

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

"I remember what I said to doctors:" Is I die? "And they just repeated," We try to do everything we can We can, but nothing works. "

"Devalued as a Woman"

Hayley survived, but like many women with DEAC, she was told not to She had to get pregnant because of the risk of having another heart attack.

"It's another thing that has been stolen from me, I prefer not to think about it, because it leads me on a path of sadness," she says.

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

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What is it? spontaneous coronary dissection (DEAC)?

• 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 with it
• During a heart attack, a tear or scar suddenly occurs in one of the arteries. coronary arteries blocking neo blood circulation.
• Can cause death, heart failure, cardiac arrest and requires the patient to undergo cardiac bypbad.

Source: Biomedical Cardiovascular Research Unit, Leicester, England

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

This is of the first such center in the world led by cardiologist Abi Al Hussaini.

Dr. Al-Hussaini badyzes the heart damage caused by DEAC and examines the patient's medication, generally reducing the amount taken.

With this information, she informs the patient of what she is actually doing. how risky your pregnancy can be

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

If she decides to proceed, the patient is referred to high-risk pregnancy "from the hospital, which will monitor her throughout the pregnancy.

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

" This is the one of the reasons I created the clinic, to give these patients the right advice and to make an informed decision. "

Acute Pain

The first women badisted by the clinic were Julie Murphy, 40.

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

One day, while swimming, he felt a sharp pain in his chest. home, he underwent cardiac 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 you m & rsquo; "I really weakened it, 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," she says.

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

She later became the first patient to become pregnant at the clinic. second time. And his 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 regarding 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 is because there has not been much research, more and more studies are being conducted on this subject."

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