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Event raises funds for leading cause of heart attacks in women under 50 Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection (SCAD) Research, Inc. is hosting its Second Annual Southwest Florida SCADaddle Sunset 5K Run and Fun Walk on Friday, March 29, at Payne Park (2050 Adams Lane) in Sarasota. The timed 5K run, which is sanctioned by the Manasota Track Club, begins at 6:30 pm, immediately followed by a 1-mile fun walk and kids’ run. Free massages, a hula hoop class, live music, raffle, dinner, dessert truck, and craft beer will be offered as well, making this a fun, festive event for the entire family. Entrance fees are $30 for adults and children 12 and older, $15 for kids ages 6-11. Registration is available online at https://raceroster.com. Started locally in 2018, the SCADaddle Sunset 5K is part of a national series of races designed to raise awareness about Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection, the number one cause of heart attacks in healthy women under 50, pregnant women and new mothers. SCAD is an uncommon and poorly understood type of heart attack, which sometimes leads to an abrupt death. It occurs without warning when a tear forms in one of the blood vessels in the heart. While SCAD can occur in both genders, it is eighty percent more common in women than men. “Raising research dollars is critical to learning why and how this condition happens and to discovering genetic links that may be associated with SCAD,” said event organizer, Tracee Murphy, who is a SCAD survivor. “As research findings are published through the Mayo Clinic, it will greatly help to raise awareness in our local medical community and hopefully save lives.” Murphy was a fit 48-year-old woman with no risk factors for heart disease when she suffered a SCAD-related heart attack several years ago. Three local cardiologists saw her, but none of them correctly identified what had happened to her. After seeing a TV broadcast on SCAD, Murphy traveled to the Cleveland Clinic where she was officially diagnosed with the condition and finally received proper treatment some three months after her original heart attack. “I am lucky to have survived,” she recalls. “I don’t want that to happen to other women. Through events like the SCADaddle Sunset 5K, we are helping raise funds to support SCAD research and to bring awareness, dissemination of knowledge and research findings to the bedside of patients with SCAD.” To date, events like the SCADaddle Sunset 5K in Sarasota and similar events in California, Illinois, Minnesota, Texas and Pennsylvania have raised more than $800,000 for SCAD research by the Mayo Clinic and others. For more information on Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection, visit www.scadresearch.org.