Spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD): A poorly understood condition

Published on 24/08/2012 12:00

Spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD) is a rare and poorly understood condition, that can prove fatal.

It occurs as a result of a sudden tear in the inside of a coronary artery that blocks the flow of blood to the heart muscle. No medical consensus has yet been reached on what the best way to treat the condition, as well as the cause, might be.

Each case is treated based on the medical team’s best judgment, rather than experience or clinical trial results. It is believed that around 70 per cent of cases occur in women under 50.

The Mayo Clinic study in Minnesota hopes to attract SCAD patients from all over the world to build a genetic database and analyse medical records in a bid to understand the condition.

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