I was hoping to get some thoughts on Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection. My fried did heavy front squats (500 lbs) and started feeling “off.” He decided to go to the ER where he was diagnosed as having a heart attack and later determined to be a SCAD event. As I understand it, this condition is very rare for men, even more for a healthy, mid-30’s, natty male. The cardiologist thinks it was almost certainly the heavy front squats and told my friend he should be dead and his Powerlifting days are over. I know any comments will be speculation but I’m just interested in some professional opinions.
I am a bit shaken as he is a good friend and very talented lifter. Thank you in advance!
I agree that SCAD is a life-threatening event. These are relatively rare occurrences, and a significant proportion of them are never found to have a clear underlying cause. Unfortunately, unless he ends up getting diagnosed with something like a connective tissue disorder, no one will be able to definitively identify a singular “cause” for the event, nor will they be able to accurately forecast his future risk. If something like that happened to me, I would certainly be shaken up psychologically, but living the entire rest of my life without any physical exertion wouldn’t really be a practical or acceptable option either. Each person’s risk tolerance in this sort of situation will vary, of course.
Sorry for the late response. I wrote the original comment while I was in a bit of shock as he has a family and is just a good friend. I guess I just needed to hear a professional’s take. Not to mention they were specifically blaming the front squat and I did want to hear your thoughts on the most likely cause(s)