Good friends Laura and Katherine met online a few years ago -- not because they had mutual Facebook friends -- but because they both had a rare heart condition. The disease is called SCAD in which the inner layer of the heart artery tears away from the outer wall. Most cases are fatal. "I just remember lying on the cath table and the cardiologist looked like he was about to die," said Katherine Leon, SCAD survivor…After a few years that chat room turned into the largest group of  SCAD survivors ever identified. Laura and Katherine decided to bring the survivor stories to the attention of Dr. Sharonne Hayes at the Mayo Clinc -- and push for more research.  "I had this patient coming and challenging and laying down the gauntlet, and basically I felt like I had to say I'm going to do something about it," said Sharonne Hayes, M.D., Cardiologist, Mayo Clinic.

WPTV (Fla.), 02/28/2012

Additional coverage: KPVI Idaho, Turn To 10 (R.I.)

Tags: Cardiology, Dr. Sharonne Hayes, Facebook, Katherine Leon, rare heart condition, SCAD, Social Media