SCAD Alliance board member to present at Stanford conference

SCAD Alliance board member, Tina Pittman Wagers, MSW, PsyD, on campus of University Colorado – Boulder

(far right) Dr. Tina Pittman Wagers, SCAD Alliance board member and Stanford MedX speaker, consults with students on campus of University Colorado – Boulder.

Stanford Medicine X 2015 officials have selected SCAD Alliance board member Tina Pittman Wagers, M.S.W., Psy.D., to present at their conference at Stanford in September 2015. A survivor of heart attack from spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD), Pittman Wagers will draw on personal experience in her presentation, “How Do I Understand a Misunderstood Diagnosis? Navigating Uncertainty.”

In her presentation abstract, Pittman Wagers wrote, “As a clinical psychologist, I have become especially interested in psychosocial aspects of health conditions which are under-researched, frequently misdiagnosed, and out of sync with the medical community’s assumptions about typical patient profiles.” She continued, “SCAD patients are a subset of mostly female heart patients who are at risk for being inadequately or inappropriately treated at various points during their journey, potentially increasing the emotional burden of an already daunting diagnosis.”

Pittman Wagers is planning to conduct research of the SCAD survivor experience and share findings at the Stanford conference, considered to be a leading event to bring together patients and clinicians to discuss ways to improve healthcare delivery and create an environment of true patient empowerment.

For more, follow Pittman Wagers on Twitter @drtinapw and watch for MedX updates on the SCAD Alliance Facebook.