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Broadcast:
Patent Foramen Ovale - A Common Congenital Heart Defect
Heart Center cardiologist Sanjay K. Gandhi, M.D., assistant professor of medicine will perform a congenital heart defect repair live on the Internet Tuesday, June 6 at 5 p.m. The procedure will be narrated by his colleague, cardiologist Renato M. Santos, M.D., assistant professor of medicine.
Patent foramen ovale (PFO) is a common congenital heart defect found in 20 percent of all adults. It occurs when a fetal opening in the wall (septum) between the left and right atrium—the upper chambers of the heart—doesn't close after birth. This residual tunnel can potentially allow blood to leak between these chambers.
Most people don't suffer any ill effects. In fact, many people are not aware that they even have the abnormality. However, doctors believe some young adults with this heart defect may be at risk of suffering a thromboembolic stroke caused by blood clots that form and travel to the heart and then to the brain. Often, the defect is not discovered until after the patient has suffered such a stroke.
About the Procedure
Patent Foramen Ovale (PFO) Closure in Adults
To be Featured in Live Webcast
Patent foramen ovale (PFO) is a common congenital heart defect found in 20 percent of all adults. It occurs when a fetal opening in the wall (septum) between the left and right atrium—the upper chambers of the heart—doesn’t close after birth. This residual tunnel can potentially allow blood to leak between these chambers.
Most people don’t suffer any ill effects. In fact, many people are not aware that they even have the abnormality. However, doctors believe some young adults with this heart defect may be at risk of suffering a thromboembolic stroke caused by blood clots that form and travel to the heart and then to the brain. Often, the defect is not discovered until after the patient has suffered such a stroke.
At Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, cardiologists repair the defect using a minimally invasive procedure performed in the cardiac catheterization lab. The repair device is inserted into the heart through a vein in the leg—much like angioplasty. A two-part patch closes the opening on both sides and seals the opening.
Atrial septal defect (ASD) is another congenital heart defect that might be asymptomatic in children, but cause problems in adults. It too involves a fetal opening in the upper chambers of the heart that fails to close after birth. An ASD however is a true hole in the septum. It occurs in approximately four out of every 100,000 people.
In adults with an ASD, heart complications normally appear after age 30 and could include:
A bacterial infection of the heart (endocarditis);
An abnormally fast heart rhythm (atrial fibrillation);
Abnormally high blood pressure in the arteries of the lungs (pulmonary hypertension); and
Heart failure.
As with a PFO, Wake Forest Baptist cardiologists repair the ASD in the cardiac cath lab using a minimally invasive technique to introduce a patch into the heart through a catheter in the leg.
