CRANBERRY TWP — On March 6, 2021, resident Tricia Siliano had little reason to fear a heart attack.

She had been an active primary school teacher for more than 20 years, the mother of three healthy boys and a vegetarian to boot.

And, when it happened anyway, she was simply sorting her laundry.

“I actually had no underlying conditions, and I was doing laundry,” Siliano said. “I felt a strong, strange pain, and I knew it was something I needed help for. I mean, it wasn’t something I could shake off — I immediately knew that this was not good.”

She asked one of her sons to take her to a hospital.

Her lips and hands were numb, and her chest was burning. She said it was one of the slowest drives of her life.

“I felt like he was driving so super slow, and so — I had my faculties about me — I called 911,” Siliano said. “And they said, ‘Don’t go to the emergency room, just stop here.’”

When she got out of the car at Cranberry Township EMS, crews immediately placed her into an ambulance for assessment.

“Then, right away, (the EMS) said: ‘Turn on the lights,’” Siliano said.

At the hospital, the doctor explained that Siliano's heart attack was caused by spontaneous coronary artery dissection, also known as SCAD.

She was immediately prepped for double-bypass, open-heart surgery.

“So, at 11 a.m., I’m doing laundry,” Siliano said. “At 3 p.m., I’m having open-heart surgery.”

According to the American Heart Association, cardiovascular disease continues to be the greatest threat to women — taking the life of one in every three women.

Siliano’s cardiologist, Dr. Katie Berlacher, said the most common cause of a heart attack is the buildup of plaque in an artery.

“The buildup of cholesterol and plaque can prevent blood from getting to heart muscle,” Berlacher said. “A heart attack can occur when the plaque buildup breaks open and causes a clot to be formed in the coronary artery, which prevents blood from getting to the heart muscle.”

And while SCAD is less common, it produces the same result.

“The way that it happens is actually a tearing of the arterial wall,” Berlacher said. “That then fills with either blood, in like a pocket of blood in the arterial wall, or it opens and actually tears it and causes a blood clot in the artery.”

With SCAD, cholesterol and high blood pressure are not factors, Berlacher said, but it does occur predominantly in women.

“We know some associations with spontaneous coronary artery dissection,” Berlacher said. “We do not know the cause as of yet.”

Hormonal changes, such as menopause or pregnancy, often are associated with the condition, Berlacher said, as well as various physiological stressors.

While Siliano lay in the ICU, though, she knew little about her condition's causes and effects.

She said it was a gentle, invisible pressure on her arm that convinced her to educate herself and others on heart health.

“And then it happened again, right after, just the pressure against my arm of a strong hand and I thought, I know you’re there, God,” Siliano said. “So at that point, I knew I was here for a reason: I need to raise awareness.”

As Siliano regained her strength, she was surrounded by a wealth of information on heart disease and SCAD — but no way to use it yet.

“A lot of doctors were coming in, and I had a lot of people saying, ‘Well, we’ve never met anyone with SCAD before, we’re going to come in and just kind of talk to you,’” Siliano said. “And I said, ‘OK, I’ll do whatever I can, but I don’t know what to do with this.”

It was her son Nick’s senior project that set her on a path to working with the American Heart Association.

Nick wanted to do a project that would “connect” for him, but was unsure of what topic to choose, Siliano said.

“So I reached out to the American Heart Association and they connected me with Karen,” she said. “She was my son’s mentor, and that’s how we have the connection here.”

While Karen Colbert, regional director for the American Heart Association, helped Nick complete his project on fundraising in the association, she was also inspired by his mother’s story.

“So she actually nominated me for the Woman of Impact Award,” Siliano said.

The Greater Pittsburgh Woman of Impact Award is part of the association’s Go Red For Women movement, according to Colbert. Four women were nominated this year.

Each year, a group of local women is nominated to take part in the program, Siliano said, forming teams to participate in fundraising and activities meant to raise awareness for women’s heart health.

This year’s “friendly competition” ran from National Wear Red Day on Feb. 2, to April 6, Siliano said, with fundraising representing 70% of the competition and the activities representing the other 30%.

“So I built my team with people I knew — just kind of threw it out there and asked — and with the different facets of my life: college friends, co-workers, neighbors, friends from high school, all of these different groups,” Siliano said.

Siliano’s 21-person team, Siliano Strong, set to work completing weekly educational activities and organizing fundraising for her campaign.

One friend and team member, Merrit McDaniel, was particularly creative, Siliano said.

“She would put something on social media like: ‘Instead of your coffee today, how about you give to the American Heart Association? Here’s my Venmo,’” Siliano explained.

Another, Lori Hrinko, organized an entire fundraising event with the owner of Eva Bryn Shoetique in Zelienople.

“She said, ‘How about I ask her if it’s OK if she basically will do a sale. We can invite people and then she would donate a portion of the sales,’” Siliano said.

The event netted the team more than $1,000.

By the end of the competition, the four nominees had raised $15,533, according to Colbert.

Of that amount, Siliano’s team raised $13,933.

Last week, Siliano was named the 2023 Greater Pittsburgh Woman of Impact Award Winner by the American Heart Association.

“So she is going to be presented with the Woman of Impact Award at the Go Red for Women event, May 11,” Colbert said. “We’re excited about that.”

The Greater Pittsburgh Go Red For Women Event will be held at Acrisure Stadium, Colbert said, featuring a fashion show, a discussion with four female cardiologists including Berlacher, and a speech by Siliano.

“It’s just, again, to put a face to heart disease,” Colbert said. “Heart disease is the number one killer of women. It kills more women than all forms of cancer combined.”

While Siliano’s heart attack was, of course, life changing, she said it has been for the better.

“I almost feel like it was kind of meant to be,” she said. “It was a good experience — I know that sounds ridiculous — but it really changed my outlook on life.”

She said living a balanced life and being kind have been some of her most important takeaways from the experience.

“All of the people on my team and my life have really lifted me up to be able to have the energy to do this and to want to make it, hopefully, contagious,” she said.

She and Berlacher agreed that one of the easiest ways for women to start looking after their own heart health was to “know your numbers” — cholesterol, blood pressure and blood sugar.

“I think good advice for people experiencing anxiety about this is just to take baby steps,” Siliano said. “You know, that baby step being ‘get your physical,’ or that baby step being ‘take a walk.’ Do what works for you.”

She also thanked her team, her family and medical staff for their support throughout the experience.

“Lead with love,” she added. “Together we can raise heart health awareness for all.”