SUFFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — February is American Heart Month, and a woman from Suffolk wants to share her story about a rare heart condition doctors diagnosed her with less than a year ago.

In 2023, Kim Atkins went from being a woman “on the go” to a woman in the hospital bed. Atkins said she had terrible indigestion one day in May. After the second day of continued discomfort, she called her friend, who’s a nurse, and was encouraged to go to the hospital.

Atkins said the pain started to move into her jaw, and doctors ran several tests on her. Atkins thought her condition would be minor. Instead, a heart attack was confirmed.

“When I went in, I was barking about the fact that I was going to be going to Disney World in five days, so I didn’t have time for this,” Atkins said, while laughing.

Meanwhile, while Atkins was hospitalized, she suffered a second heart attack. Doctors began to run more tests on her to figure out what was happening.

“I remember when I was in my angiogram, I was loopy, but … at the last minute I told the doctor I have fibromuscular dysplasia,” Atkins said.

Fibromuscular dysplasia is a rare blood vessel disorder where strong cells are replaced with weaker fibrous cells, according to John Hopkins Medicine.

The doctor was able to realize it could be Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection, or SCAD, which is a serious condition that causes tears in the walls of heart arteries, according to Mayo Clinic.

After multiple tests, doctors confirmed the SCAD diagnosis. The tear in the lining of the arteries in Atkins’ heart makes it difficult for blood to get to its destination.

There are multiple factors that could contribute to the cause of SCAD, but recent studies showed that many SCAD patients also have fibromuscular dysplasia, according to the American Heart Association.

Doctors said SCAD is responsible for a small percentage of heart attacks, about 1-4%. The goal of doctors, when treating patients with SCAD, is to reestablish blood flow.

Dr. Stephen Noble, a cardiothoracic surgeon with Chesapeake Regional Healthcare, shares how doctors can make that happen. Some medicines can help control risk, and help with the pain, Noble said.

“Sometimes patients can be on what are called beta blockers where you decrease some of the demand, or how hard the heart beats,” Noble said. “Then, sometimes the patients may have chest pain that, because of the lack of blood flow to the heart, they experience some pain and discomfort. So, sometimes patients need to be put on medicine to alleviate some of that pain.”

Other treatments such as stents or bypass surgery can also help blood flow.

“That’s pretty extreme to have open heart surgery for something like this, and for that reason, really seeing a specialist, those centers that really specialize in this is key,” Noble said.

Atkins hoped to be able to get treatment for SCAD in Hampton Roads, but she said the only SCAD specialist she could find is in Newport News. She said she couldn’t get in to see that doctor for a year. So, she was sent to a specialist at the Mayo Clinic.

“There is a doctor there that is world renowned on SCAD,” Atkins said. “That’s all she does is do research on SCAD.”

Atkins said the Mayo Clinic took her right away. She said it was very costly, so her family and friends worked together to help raise money for her treatment. Atkins’ doctor put her on beta blockers to slow her heart rate. She said this has all caused big changes in her life, especially when it comes to her career as a physical therapist.

“The unfortunate thing is I’m on a permanent lifting restriction for the rest of my life,” Atkins said. “No straining. No heavy weightlifting. No any of that, so that’s the big issue being a physical therapist. I can still work. I just can’t really see patients that are maximal assistance. I do have a job now. My initial job let me go.”

Atkins said all of this has taught her to slow down, and appreciate the little things.

“I learned to smell the flowers,” Atkins said. “I’m learning to spend time with my family and friends. I’m not sweating the little stuff at all anymore.”

She picked up new hobbies like crocheting and reading more. She is also in a SCAD support group that meets online. While there, she can listen to people from around the world talk about their lives with SCAD.

Atkins said her goal is to get more local doctors to specialize in SCAD, so local patients don’t have to travel so far for treatment.

Noble said he understands why Atkins wants that to happen, but he explained the thought process for doctors when it comes to rare conditions. Noble said that these kinds of conditions have always been around, and with more awareness, more doctors can recognize it.

“But as far as individuals probably specializing in it, I think it may just be relegated to a few select centers within the United States, and in the world, that have this great experience of really trying to manage it,” Noble said.

No matter what happens, Atkins has a message for all women.

“Heartburn, stomach pain, mid back pain, don’t ignore that,” Atkins said. “It could be something more serious. I’m glad that I actually went to the ER. It could have been very different.”