I had a SCAD in November 2014. Prior to this event, I was a very busy HR Director working 60+ hour weeks, mum of 3 lovely people and generally living my life to a vague plan, blissfully unaware that the rug was about to be yanked from under my feet.

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Two researchers from the SCAD team have been recognised by the BHF for their contribution to heart research. See the BHF Heart Heroes Midlands article for the full story.

I'm a 39 year old teacher living in Hertfordshire with my partner and our 5-year old son.

Last year (2014), about August time, I experienced SUDDEN CHEST PAINS following some fairly strenuous housework. I assumed they were INDIGESTION, but they were severe enough to make me nauseous and they lasted a few hours. My chest was sore for some days afterwards.

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November 2012, I had a coughing fit. I sometimes get Laryngospasm. It can happen two or three times a year; twice it woke me up. Very frightening. All of a sudden I get a tickle in my throat and then I cannot breathe. It's as though someone has put a vice around my lungs. Every breath, or rather noise, that comes from me is a real effort.

On that day last year, I started to cough, it did not develop into a complete breathless attack but it was severe. After it had subsided, I had a really bad pain in the middle of my chest; I really did not feel well at all.

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I suppose looking back it started when I was 32 weeks pregnant, I was not feeling right, couldn't put my finger on it, my blood pressure wasn't great, kept getting palpitations and what I can only describe as low blood sugar. I saw my midwife but she dismissed how I was feeling, after all it was my third pregnancy and I was a full time teacher so that was what she put it down to. Luckily my GP listened to me and signed me off work.

Then at 35 wks pregnant I started to feel heartburn radiate into my ears and jaw, I was becoming very short of breath with little exertion. I saw a midwife at the hospital as I was being consultant led due to the baby being so big. She dismissed me saying she had never come across these symptoms. I had my son via elective cesarean section on 28th February 2012, my blood pressure was very high before the procedure and they discussed whether or not to proceed. My son was only 8lb 3oz.... My smallest baby, with the other two weighing 8lb 7oz and 10lb.

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My SCAD occurred on the longest day of the year, June 21st 1999. I was 9 months pregnant at the time. The pregnancy was my fourth; I had had three previous miscarriages with no known cause... I did some research of my own and my GP at the time agreed to me taking a 75 mg Aspirin daily for the first 36 weeks of the pregnancy. Little did I know I would need to take Aspirin for the rest of my life!

On June 21st, I was due to visit hospital to receive an induction date, I was 10 days overdue. One of the feelings I had that never went away (call it a sixth sense) was that I needed to have a Caesarean. This was dismissed as first time pregnancy anxiety. That morning I woke feeling thirsty, as I got up I felt chest pain and I began shaking my left arm as it felt numb. I told my husband we needed to go to the hospital (by this stage I had the well documented feelings of ‘impending doom’).

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I'm now over five years post SCAD, just coming up to 55 and the happiest I have ever been in my life. So what's changed?

1. I got healthy through eating well and exercising moderately (gardening, yoga, walking, badminton).

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My SCAD occurred on 10 March 2011. I was 49.

I was pretty sure I was having a heart attack as I had pressure on my chest and weakness in my arms but no pain. At the time it happened I was gardening. MI was diagnosed after a couple of hours in A&E and blood test results came back. I was taken to Liverpool Heart & Chest Hospital for an angiogram and a stent was fitted.

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I was 49 when I had my SCAD heart attack in 2011.

It was a Sunday and I had done some cardio work at the gym followed by an arm weights machine. I then did a fast walk on the treadmill and after a couple of minutes felt a pain in the centre of my chest and my left hand and forearm were numb. I stopped exercising, thinking I had pulled a muscle when using the arm weights. By the time I had showered and changed the pain had gone.

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I had my SCAD in August 2012 whilst out shopping with my children. It came completely out of the blue, I was fit and healthy, never experienced any heart problems previously. One minute I felt fine, the next minute I felt faint and I had an unusual pain in my chest - almost like I had something stuck in my oesophagus. I called passersby for help as I was worried I was going to pass out and was concerned for my kids.

Luckily paramedics were called and I was quickly in the back of an ambulance. My heart went into arrest but I was quickly revived. When I arrived at hospital I had an angiogram and they diagnosed artery dissection. The plan was to just treat with meds and I stayed in hospital for five days. I was then given a second angiogram with the hope that it would show my artery had repaired. However my artery dissected again during the angiogram so I had emergency double bypass surgery.

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