News/PR
Bay Medical Cardiologist Repairs "Hole In Heart" Without Open Surgery
September 25, 2007
New Device Repairs Common Heart Defects Via Catheter
Contact:
Christa Dean Hild
850-747-6542
Panama City, Florida - On Thursday, August 30, a Bay Medical team led by interventional cardiologist Dr. Amir Haghighat performed a new procedure to correct a potentially fatal heart defect (a hole in the heart) without open surgery. This is the first time this procedure has been available in our area.
An Atrial Septal Defect (ASD) is a hole between the two upper chambers of the heart (atria), which occurs in 5 - 10% of people with congenital heart disease. In fetal development, the wall (septum) between the collecting chambers (atria) did not completely close and left a hole. Usually the hole is near the middle, where the septal wall is thinnest.
Using a new device called a Septal Occluder which is inserted into a blood vessel through a catheter, Dr. Haghighat navigates the device to the defect and closes, or occludes, the opening.
ASD Explained
In a normal heart, the right side pumps blood only to the lungs, where the oxygen is replenished. The left side pumps blood to the rest of the body, delivering the oxygen. For that reason, the left side needs to pump harder; generally, there's three to four times as much pressure on the left side. If there's an ASD, this pressure differential means that some blood flows through the hole from the left to the right side. This is one cause of heart murmurs.
Because it's receiving so much extra blood, the right side of the heart does more than its normal share of work. It may have a tough time coping with the extra load. Plus, the blood is poorly oxygenated because the cycle is being "short circuited." This can cause symptoms like fatigue, difficult or rapid breathing, failure to grow normally, or chronic respiratory infections.
Larger holes can lead to heart failure and death. The severity of these symptoms depends on the size and location of the hole. Sometimes the symptoms appear in newborns. Sometimes they don't appear until much later in life. Each case is different.
New Procedure
In the past, patients have faced the prospect of open-heart surgery to repair this defect, requiring incisions through the breast bone and heart muscle. This is typically followed by a hospital stay of up to five days and a long recovery. By comparison, patients who are good candidates for treatment with the AMPLATZER septal occluder will undergo a minimally invasive procedure in the cardiac catheterization lab that involves a tiny incision in the groin area to access a blood vessel. These patients will typically leave the hospital within 24 hours.
The state-of-the-art imaging technology available in the Bay Medical cath lab allows the cardiologist to determine the exact location and size of the heart defect. The septal occluder is a titanium mesh device that is then navigated to the opening and expanded to seal the hole.
Dr. Amir Haghighat
Dr. Haghighat is an interventional cardiologist who has performed 30 of these procedures during his training. He has been certified by the device manufacturer to perform this procedure at Bay Medical.
For more information please contact Christa Hild at 747-6542.