Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection: Cardiac Manifestations of Vascular Disease

Spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD) is an increasingly recognized cause of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) in young women who otherwise do not have traditional risk factors for coronary artery disease. Though previously considered to be a rare occurrence and primarily associated with pregnancy, contemporary series have demonstrated that SCAD may account for 35% of ACS in women under the age of 50  years, and peripartum SCAD accounts for the minority of cases. Importantly, an association between SCAD and arterial abnormalities in non-coronary arterial distributions has been described.
Source: Progress in Cardiovascular Diseases - Category: Cardiology Authors: Source Type: research