Heart CENTER
Diagnosed with atrial septal defect
She
never complained or appeared short of breath, so we didn’t make the
connection that it might be something more serious,” Debbie, her
mother, recalled.
Later, a common cold that would not go away led the Orange, Texas,
residents to suspect lung problems. When X-rays revealed an enlarged
heart, the family turned to Texas Children’s Heart Center.
“Two
years earlier, Texas Children’s saved the life of my son, Gary, when
he was diagnosed with Rocky Mountain spotted fever,” Debbie said. “I
wouldn’t take Jamie anywhere else.”
Texas Children’s Heart Center
diagnosed Jamie with atrial septal defect, a hole between the top
two chambers of the heart. “Because of the hole, there was abnormal
mixing between the red blood and blue blood in the heart,” explained
Dr. Ronald Grifka, medical director of the
cardiac catheterization
laboratories at Texas Children’s.
“We used a special investigational
device to close the hole.” Debbie was relieved and joyful: “I was so
excited to hear Jamie would not need open-heart surgery. Dr. Grifka
did such a wonderful job.”
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