The 38-year-olds said they were best friends while growing up and did everything together but were not expecting to share such a similar experience.
Mairead had returned to work 6 months earlier following the birth of her daughter, a house move and the loss of her dad. She was getting back into routine after a stressful period. On September 2nd 2023, Mairead who had always prioritised her health and fitness, went to a gym class at 6am and while doing a pull-up she thought she pulled a muscle. She sat out of the rest of the class and went home to rest. After lying down, the pain radiated to her jaw and across her left shoulder.
She called her mum, Sheila, who was a nurse, and was advised to call an ambulance. The paramedic performed an ECG, which returned clear, but they decided to bring Mairead in for further checks. After waiting alongside her mum, Mairead was told she had suffered a significant heart event, a STEMI. This was confirmed with Mairead’s elevated troponin levels, a protein found in the blood after a heart attack.
“My mum and I couldn’t believe it. We thought it could have been an anxiety attack after recent postpartum depression, so we weren’t expecting to hear it was a heart attack.
“I was admitted to the cardiac care unit where I stayed for the weekend and underwent an angiogram the following week. That was a very scary process as I suffered another SCAD on the table and the team had to step away from me for 10 minutes as the risk of a complication was very high. They think this may have been caused by the contrast used. “I was awake and aware of what was happening, but I was hallucinating and experienced chest pain that night.
My mum and I couldn’t believe it.
She spent a further two weeks in hospital and after cardiac CTs, was discharged, but the cause of Mairead’s SCAD is unknown. “It came completely out of the blue.”
There are many lasting impacts on both Mairead and her family.
“My partner has trauma following the event because I was fit and healthy at the time so preventing another event for me, or an event for him is difficult. I felt that my body was failing me, and I was managing other conditions such as polycystic ovary syndrome and hemochromatosis.
“I was told I couldn’t have any more children as the pressure on my heart would be too much. My daughter who is one and a half often says ‘mammy had to go to the hospital’ if I’m not at home and is quite anxious when I’m gone for the night.
“Physically, when I came home from hospital, I couldn’t lift my daughter and going up and down the stairs was very difficult. My ejection fraction is low, and the tiredness and lack of energy can be overwhelming – I feel wrecked. I was very active before, and now I am anxious about fitness or putting my body under pressure.
“At the time, I felt like I shouldn’t be in this position, I shouldn’t be in my 30’s with a dodgy heart. When you think about having a heart attack, you think about lifestyle, even though that wasn’t the case for me. It messes with your head that you’ve let your body down. People automatically ask, how was your cholesterol, and you’re immediately shamed for having a heart attack. Even though nobody deserves to have this kind of thing happen them, it was mentally harder for me than physically.
“I’ve been in hospital twice since, once with a suspected clot, and another time with chest pain.”
Physically, when I came home from hospital, I couldn’t lift my daughter and going up and down the stairs was very difficult.
Mairead is now back working full time in IT in Alltech and said the company she works with have been really kind, allowing Mairead to slowly pace herself with 2 to 3 days initially as well as sending care packages and sending thoughtful messages.” With this support and support from the Irish Heart Foundation, things were looking up.
“I received great help from the Irish Heart Foundation. I received the booklet on SCAD from a nurse in the hospital and that led me to the Irish Heart Foundation, where I’ve spoken to your nurses on the Nurse Support Line and they’ve been amazing. Seeing all the different information, and the different conditions on the website makes you feel like you’re not alone.
“With the patient panel that I’m involved in, it has been genuinely nice to speak with people who have gone through the same thing, the isolation is less and I have the opportunity to give something back. I’m part of the Heart Support Network, and a WhatsApp group for SCAD Ireland and I’ve met a few people from the group in person which is so nice because some are living close to me, and we meet regularly and its genuinely helpful. We don’t have to burden our partners. My sister is a big support to me too.” Counselling for PTSD has also been a huge help for Mairead.
Mairead is sharing her story as part of the Irish Heart Foundation’s Her Heart Matters campaign and speaks about the topic of heart health for women.
“When I have been speaking with my colleagues, my perspective on life has completely changed since experiencing a SCAD – tomorrow isn’t promised and the world isn’t going to end because you didn’t send that email on time. Take a step back and see if something is really urgent. I found that by timing myself it really helped, for example, I’m only allowing myself to have 10 minutes today for this task and if I don’t get it done, I don’t get it done. I erase it from my brain, and I don’t have to think about it until the next day.
When I have been speaking with my colleagues, my perspective on life has completely changed
“For me, something I’ve tried to share with my friends’ is don’t underestimate how much stress can impact your heart. That’s one of the biggest learnings for me. I’m a lot less stressed now – and think ‘ok, is this something I really need to be worried about?’ There’s a strong link between stress and physical health too. Women tend to carry a lot of mental load and that can be really hard on you physically, whether you’re harbouring it internally or externally. I would have always let it fester internally, and then it would blow – you push and push until you can push no more.”
Mairead has a positive outlook on life, something she shares with her sister, Therese, and explains: “We are literally two halves of one whole. We have had a few other similar things happen as well as both having a SCAD – I fractured my arm when I was 10 or 11 and exactly one year to the day, she did the exact same break.
“It’s been a real whirlwind couple of years and seeing my sister go through it. She is my best friend and my person, so it has been hard seeing her go through the pain that I went through. But at the same time, it gives me joy that she has had so much care and support and had her own little boy.”
It’s been a real whirlwind couple of years and seeing my sister go through it.
Therese’s experience was different in that it came at a time when she and her partner were going through fertility treatment in May 2024. That week she started to feel unwell, “it started as the same feeling of a pulled muscle – a pain in my back and then my right arm. I thought I will be grand and went for a nap but when I woke up, I felt nauseous, sweaty and just off. I was with my mum at the time and said, I better just get checked out because of what had happened to Mairead.”
The doctor told Therese that her ECG was a bit off and to get it checked in the emergency department. After some initial tests they told Therese she had experienced a heart attack – “a SCAD in my right coronary artery, it had dilated and caused an NSTEMI, there wasn’t a tear or anything.
“Honestly, I wouldn’t have gone in if I didn’t know about Mairead. I wouldn’t have thought a heart attack could happen to me – I’ve never had any issues with my heart before, my cholesterol has always been good, and I was an active with hiking and yoga.”
“It’s the most twin thing we’ve ever done. Most twins copy hairstyles and outfits; we just copy incidents.”
Therese spent a week in hospital where she underwent additional testing and had visits and phone calls of support from her husband, mum, Mairead, two other sisters and brother.
“Because I had taken a trigger shot in the fertility treatment, I was showing up as pregnant, even though I wasn’t. But they couldn’t take that risk with my new heart treatment. They wanted my heart to heal on its own if it could. I was then due back in August to get another angiogram and they saw that it had healed. I was still on aspirin.
It’s the most twin thing we’ve ever done. Most twins copy hairstyles and outfits; we just copy incidents.
In September, Therese said she had another cardiac event, experiencing angina which was found through a CT angiogram but this passed. “At that point though beta blockers were added to my medication.”
Speaking of her experience of SCAD, Therese said: “It was such a shock and you’re dealing with a lot of complex emotions. Mairead had a more serious one than I did, she has more life-changing results which has been tricky to navigate because I’m fine. I have a lot of guilt, because how did she get it so much worse?
“In terms of my recovery, I’m not a good patient, and it was very hard to take things easy. It was frustrating. The advice for the medical team was then not to go through any fertility treatment as they couldn’t pinpoint if that was the reason why I had the SCAD. They still don’t know why. They did identify a small hole in my heart, a PFO, but said it was unlikely to contribute to the SCAD. It was a big conversation around the prevention of another SCAD, but even though I’m fine, I always hear, ‘oh, we need to take this into account’.
“But in October, we spontaneously got pregnant. We now have a little boy, Jack. He is three months old and we’re all doing great. There were no issues with the heart or any cardiac symptoms. We went from thinking we would never have kids, just two dogs and a cat, to boom, a total surprise. SCAD had a lot to do with it too as we weren’t focused on fertility for a bit.”
I became aware of the Irish Heart Foundation through Mairead and my dad.
Life after SCAD comes with some worries and positives for Therese. “From the positive side, there is life after SCAD – when you’re in the thick of it, you think will I ever get out of it, but you do, whatever it looks like, you don’t take it for granted and you enjoy it. I no longer take some things very seriously.
“I’ve been way more anxious since which has been challenging – physically not a lot of challenges but mentally, it’s been a little bit harder because you’re not as confident as you were. You’re not as ready to jump into something – what happens if this happens, or if I get a pain I think about what it could be.
“Ever since I got pregnant, any kind of twinge or back pain or ache, you think oh god, is it happening again? You always have it in your head. Is this just back pain or is it another SCAD? Is it just palpitations or something more serious? However, I did cardiac rehabilitation early in the pregnancy which was great because it helped me with how to manage. Your confidence takes a bit of a dip, in what you can do and can’t do. I’m good now, apart from being exhausted all the time.”
The support from various people and groups has also been key in Therese’s recovery, with the Irish Heart Foundation, SCAD Ireland and her sister Mairead being noted.
“I became aware of the Irish Heart Foundation through Mairead and my dad. Resources available on SCAD like booklets and the SCAD Ireland Facebook and WhatsApp groups were very helpful. It’s been so nice to have Mairead as a support too. Talking about it helps and having a support group. I have a lot of medical anxiety, and I don’t think I would be where I am today if I didn’t have Mairead to talk to. It shows the importance of having a support group and finding people who have shared experiences for more conversations.
“I experienced SCAD from both sides, my own experience, and then I was a family member who received that news about my sister, and to think that we almost lost Mairead. It still gets me – the ‘what if’.
Joining the Her Heart Matters campaign, Therese said, “I really appreciate the work of the Irish Heart Foundation and stories on things that impact women.” She shares this advice with women: “Stress and listening to our bodies are probably two big things for women. We tend not to push ourselves a lot and not listen when we need to take a rest. This, and understanding. The number of women I speak to that don’t know what SCAD is, or that it mostly impacts women. It’s an unknown thing. So, listen to your body, particularly in stressful situations, and take some time to yourself, which is easier said than done. Take yourself more seriously if you’re not feeling well.”
2025-06-20
