02/17/2026
Just six weeks after giving birth to her third child, 34-year-old Layne was settling into the joys of motherhood. But one ordinary morning turned into a fight for her life.
While taking her children to school, Layne experienced a spontaneous coronary artery dissection—SCAD—a rare and dangerous tear in the coronary artery that can cause a heart attack.
As a nurse practitioner at Saint Luke’s Urgent Care, Layne turned to her trusted colleagues at Saint Luke's Mid America Heart Institute. Thanks to advanced SCAD research, her care team had the expertise to act quickly to save her life.
Dr. Anna Grodzinsky, a cardiologist who leads our SCAD program, shared that Layne’s SCAD was one of the most severe she had ever seen—and the first to require a three-vessel bypass surgery.
“This was a first for many of us on the team,” Dr. Grodzinsky says. “But because of everything we’ve learned in recent years, we were ready.”
After two weeks in the hospital, Layne came home to her three children and began her long road to recovery—one filled with gratitude, resilience, and hope.
Because of supporters like you, the specialists at Saint Luke’s Mid America Heart Institute can provide lifesaving care, pursue breakthroughs in SCAD research, and remain leaders in treating heart disease. Help make a difference for patients like Layne: https://heyor.ca/6aGE22
