A mother of three and fitness fanatic had no underlying health issues before suffering three rare heart attacks in five days, leaving her pleading with doctors to save her life for her kids.<\/p>\n
Last month, Kayla Scali, 36, spent the day doing work around the house before heading to the gym after dinner. <\/p>\n
After her regular workout she began to experience sudden heart palpitations, chest tightness and numbness down her left arm. <\/p>\n
\u201cI rang my husband and said, \u2018I just don\u2019t feel right. I think I actually need an ambulance\u2019,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n
\u201cNext minute, I was on the floor in the foetal position. Luckily, an intern doctor had turned up to train and found me on the floor and called the ambulance.\u201d<\/p>\n
It was the first of three heart attacks she would suffer, triggered by a rare condition called spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD). <\/p>\n
Olympian medallist and retired swimmer Libby Trickett began raising awareness for the condition after her SCAD heart attack in June last year, two months after giving birth to her fifth child. <\/p>\n
The condition occurs when a sudden tear forms in the wall of a heart artery, slowing or blocking blood flow and leading to heart attacks, irregular heartbeats or sudden death.<\/p>\n
The main cause is unknown but experts say it often affects younger, otherwise healthy women, and can be triggered by pregnancy, childbirth, extreme stress, genetic or artery conditions.<\/p>\n
Ms Scali suffered a second attack in hospital, the day before she was discharged. <\/p>\n
Her ECG results showed abnormalities but she was never reviewed by a specialist. <\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t feel medically well enough to leave, but I trusted the advice at the time and thought maybe it was just part of recovery,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n
Within 20 minutes of leaving the hospital, Ms Scali began experiencing symptoms of her third near-fatal heart attack. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe followed the (medication) instructions and waited five minutes, but by that point I was in absolute excruciating pain, worse than my first heart attack,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI said, \u2018pull into the servo, you need to call me an ambulance\u2019 \u2026 I didn\u2019t think I was going to make it.\u201d<\/p>\n
By the time she reached emergency, Ms Scali was screaming in unbearable pain \u2013 a state her husband Ilario Scali, 40, described as worse than her third labour.<\/p>\n
But her only concern was going back home to her husband and three children, Savannah, 18, Ariana, 2 and five-month-old Enzo. <\/p>\n
\u201cBefore I entered the (surgery) room, I said, \u2018you need to get me home to my children. I can\u2019t die today\u2019,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n
\u201cI couldn\u2019t stop thinking about my family. I was bawling my eyes out and saying, please, my kids need their mum.\u201d<\/p>\n
It took seven specialists four and a half hours in surgery to save her life, including consultation with a surgeon in Tokyo during the procedure. <\/p>\n
Now in recovery, Ms Scali\u2019s heart only functions at 45 per cent making tasks such as exercising, cleaning, driving or socialising more difficult. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe hardest part has been not being able to hold my kids, pick them up properly (or) getting up at night to feed my son \u2026 there\u2019s a lot of mum guilt.\u201d<\/p>\n
She said her husband took around seven weeks off work to care for the family. <\/p>\n
\u201cAs a dad, he\u2019s had the pressure of stepping up, looking after the kids, driving me to appointments and managing everything at home,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n
Ms Scali said there wasn\u2019t enough \u201cknowledge and funding\u201d around SCAD and women\u2019s health. <\/p>\n
\u201cI want to use this experience to advocate for better support \u2026 we want to feel supported and we want health professionals to have that knowledge,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A mother of three and fitness fanatic had no underlying health issues before suffering three rare heart 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