Erin Balogh is a mom and she lives here in San Elijo Hills with her family. She is a key sponsor at San Elijo Elementary school and started her company Holster Brands that resides here locally in San Marcos. Holster Brands creates safe and clever solutions for organizing all the things in your life. One of her products is a great solution when you may not have a lot of counter space in your bathroom when using your flat iron, curling iron. You can just place it in the Holster when hot and it is safe. She has so many other Holster solutions to offer. Check out her website link here to learn more.
In addition, to her company here in San Marcos; she has an incredible story we think is so important share. This story is eye opening to just how vulnerable all women younger and older are susceptible to Heart Disease. Specifically Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection SCAD.
Two years ago, at 37, she had a heart attack from a SCAD. Even though she had been an ER nurse in her previous career, she had never heard of SCAD. So that wednesday afternoon, when she started to suddenly feel tired and have an ache in her chest, she didn’t think it was a heart attack. She simply went ahead and made lunch for her three kids who were 2, 4, and 6 years old at the time.
Over the next 20 minutes, her chest pain became severe, radiating to her back and she became nauseated, clammy and light-headed. She knew something wasn’t right – but she didn’t think it was a heart attack. Thirty-seven year old moms don’t have heart attacks. They can pull a muscle, or feel burned out, or even have a blood clot. But they don’t have heart attacks. Especially from making lunch for their kids.
Her husband insisted they go to the ER (the ER she use to work in). He quickly put the kids in the car and they went to the hospital. By the time they arrived, she felt better and foolish for coming. They quickly took her back to a room and ran an EKG. Joe, her former co-worker, looked concerned and handed her a copy of the EKG. She read it quickly and saw that this person was having a heart attack. And then she looked at the name in the upper corner of the paper. It was her name. She kept glancing back and forth from the ill EKG tracing to her name. It had to be a mistake. “Joe,” she said, “I can’t be having a heart attack”. He was quiet and said he would give it to the doctor right away. The ER doctor and Cardiologist both confirmed she was having a heart attack. But they didn’t know why.
She spent the night in the ICU and early the next morning she was taken to the Cardiac Cath Lab. She doesn’t remember much from the procedure but after the sedation wore off she was told an artery, that supplies her heart with blood, had “dissected” (or torn), and they had to insert “stents” to repair the artery. This was called a SCAD (Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection).
This weekend is a run to raise money and awareness for this disease. If you are interested in wanting to help this cause. A 5k run is happening this weekend. It’s a great event to bring all your friends and family together for a good cause.
