MUSC News

When 23-year-old Hayden Scudder began experiencing chest pain and shortness of breath, neither she nor her mother could have anticipated what would come next.

“I was thinking that maybe it had something to do with my anxiety. Maybe I had bronchitis or something,” said Hayden.

What she initially believed was something minor led her to a hospital in Columbia, where an echocardiogram revealed a hole between the upper chambers of her heart. After two unsuccessful heart catheterizations in Columbia, Scudder was referred to MUSC Health-Charleston Division, where she underwent a successful robotic cardiac surgery with cardiothoracic surgeon Mac Felmly, M.D.

“This was my first major surgery. I was probably most nervous about the concept of going under and not waking up,” said Hayden. “But it's funny because the anticipation of it was probably the worst part.”