Twin sisters to walk this Way for charity
Two West Lothian sisters are joining forces to take on a charity challenge this summer.
On July 3, twins Jennifer and Karen Heenan from Bathgate, are taking on the 96-mile West Highland Way.
Jennifer, who works at Bathgate Early Years Centre, and Karen, who works at Boghall Primary School, are doing the walk to raise funds for the charity Beat SCAD.
Beat SCAD has been a huge support to Jennifer since having a heart attack caused by Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection (SCAD) a couple of years ago.
Jennifer was shocked at the age of 40 when she experienced sudden crushing chest pain, numbness in her left arm and feelings of nauseous and tiredness out of the blue.
After being admitted to hospital an ECG and a blood test confirmed that she’d had a heart attack and then an angiogram revealed it was SCAD.
Jennifer said:“SCAD can cause heart attack, heart failure, cardiac arrest and can be fatal. SCAD can happen to anyone but often affects young, healthy women with no risk factors for heart disease such as high cholesterol which I don’t have.
“There is no known cause and many patients are misdiagnosed, which can result in major damage to heart muscle. I now know that I was one of the lucky ones in that I required no surgery or stents and only have daily medication to take but I still live with questions like why did it happen and could it happen again?”
The Charity Beat SCAD aims to raise awareness, provide support and fund research.
If you would like to donate to Jennifer and Karen’s sponsored walk, then visit totalgiving.co.uk/mypage/jen-and-karen