First #hchlitss Chat with Guests Katherine Leon and Laura Haywood-Cory

We are honored to have as our first guests on Health communications, health literacy and social science (#hchlitss) two women who are making a difference in health advocacy. Katherine Leon and Laura Haywood-Cory.   

Last week they were featured speakers at the Health Communications Summit known as #mayoragan among twitter chats.  

As Katherine states, "Last week’s experience through the Mayo Clinic Center for Social Media is what has defined my role as patient advocate. Before, I just felt I was doing what needed to be done, and never put a label on it."


And what needed to be done is research on spontaneous coronary artery dissection (quite mouthful so SCAD for short).  

SCAD is an extremely serious and sometimes fatal condition. The coronary artery wall has 3 layers. The wall develops a tear, causing blood to flow between the layers of the arterial wall. Pieces of the arterial wall can act as a flap, stopping the flow of blood and causing a heart attack or even sudden death.  Eighty percent of the people suffering from SCAD are women.


Katherine learned that there was no research on SCAD so she went to work.  Our chat Thursday October 27th at  8 pm EST will be about her journey. Part of that journey led to her friendship with Laura Hayword-Cory who she met on a social support network.  She has been a close ally, support and friend and joined Katherine in her journey to Mayo.  


If you have any questions for our chat, please leave them in the comments section.  Please join us to learn how to use social media and social networks to advocate for research.  

• Katherine recently started blogging on SCAD SCAD Research..
• Laura's blog on SCAD and her journey is A Change of Heart .

Links to resources on SCAD and the study that Katherine and Laura started are below (Thank you Katherine for these links.)

• Mayo Clinic study Web site, with links to the application forms

http://dev.newsblog.mayoclinic.org/2011/08/17/scad-spontaneous-coronary-artery-dissection-studies-at-mayo-clinic/

• Tweet MS, Gulati R, Aase LA, Hayes SN. Spontaneous coronary artery dissection: a disease-specific, social networking community–initiated study. Mayo Clin Proc. 2011;86(9):845-850. Abstract/FREE Full Text

http://www.mayoclinicproceedings.com/content/86/9/845.full

• Brandom BW. Electronic Communication and Medical Research: Beyond the Record. Mayo Clin Proc.2011;86(9):836-837.

http://www.mayoclinicproceedings.com/content/86/9/836.full

• Mayo Clinic videos detailing the research project

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNnjLOF3x_Q&feature=share

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WcFYsucy1w&feature=relmfu

•   Inspire pdf on SCAD:  http://www.inspire.com/static/inspire/reports/inspire-scad-ladies-stand-up-low-res.pdf

• WomenHeart Support Community on Inspire http://www.inspire.com/groups/womenheart

• WomenHeart: The National Coalition for Women with Heart Disease http://www.womenheart.org

Hope to see you at the new TweetChat on Thursday, October 27 at 8pm EST.