ASD

Last Friday, Kent and I went back to the Cardiologist for our echocardiogram. We found out that I do NOT have a PFO ... rather, I have an ASD. The difference between a PFO and an ASD is that a PFO has a flap that opens and closes letting blood in periodically which increases the risk of stroke. An ASD, however, has no flap, and lets the blood flow freely between the right and left atriums of the heart. This can cause heart and lung damage, not to mention an even greater risk of stroke.

You can read all about an ASD here: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/atrial-septal-defect/DS00628

Currently, I am 7x more likely to have a stroke than my peers without a holey heart. Pregnant women with this heart defect are 30x more likely to have a stroke, due to the extra amount of blood circulation/clotting that occurs in pregnancy. Also, many women suffer heart failure during childbirth, or a stroke after childbirth, if they have an ASD.

SO! I'm going to get this fixed! The good news is that the procedure is just like that of a PFO. They go in through your leg artery, and put a device in your heart that blocks the hole, correcting the blood flow issues.

I am currently scheduled for the end of August.

I feel incredibly blessed to have found out about this now; before having children and before any heart/lung damage (to our knowledge) had occured. I also feel so blessed to live in the day and age, where this can be fixed so quickly, and relatively easily (15 years ago, this procedure was open heart surgery!).