LaRae stole another doctor's heart.

LaRae was born with two holes in her heart. I am glad I only knew about the one. She had a Cardiologist appt at DuPont on August 6, 2009 with Dr. Goudie. That’s when he informed us that she had two holes in her heart. You can image my surprise to that news. I was already worried about this appt with only knowing about the one hole I cannot image what it would have been like if I would have known about the other. So I am glad I did not know. We were there a lot longer then I have anticipated. The one I knew about was a PDA, which is Patent Ductus Arteriosus. We did not know LaRae also had a PFO Patent Foramen Ovale/ASD Atrial Septal Defect. Which is what everyone referees to as a heart murmur? The doctor was concern since my dad past away from a blood clot. So he was making double sure that ASD/PFO had closed up. As he was checking LaRae, I was praying that the murmur they were still hearing up until a week before that appt was gone. She passed all three tests with flying colors. So she will not need surgery on her heart. He was glad to release her from his care but also sad. She stole the heart of another doctor.

What is it?

The ductus arteriosus is a leftover fetal artery connecting the main body artery (aorta) and the main lung artery (pulmonary artery). If this artery stays open (patent) after birth, it’s called a patent ductus arteriosus (PDA).

What causes it?

The ductus arteriosus is a normal fetal artery connecting the main body artery (aorta) and the main lung artery (pulmonary artery). The ductus allows blood to detour away from the lungs before birth.

Every baby is born with a ductus arteriosus. After birth, the opening is no longer needed and it usually narrows and closes within the first few days of life.
Sometimes the ductus doesn’t close after birth. Failure of the ductus to close is common in premature infants but rare in full-term babies, and the cause is usually not known. Some patients can have other heart defects along with the PDA.

What is it?

An ASD is an opening or hole (defect) in the wall (septum) between the heart’s two upper chambers (atria).

What causes it?

Every child is born with an opening between the upper heart chambers. It’s a normal fetal opening that allows blood to detour away from the lungs before birth. After birth, the opening is no longer needed and usually closes or becomes very small within several weeks or months.
Sometimes the opening is larger than normal and doesn’t close after birth. In most children the cause isn’t known. Some children can have other heart defects along with ASD.
How does it affect the heart?
Normally, the left side of the heart only pumps blood to the body, and the right side of the heart only pumps blood to the lungs. In a child with ASD, blood can travel across the hole from the left upper heart chamber (left atrium) to the right upper chamber (right atrium) and out into the lung arteries.

If the ASD is large, the extra blood being pumped into the lung arteries makes the heart and lungs work harder and the lung arteries can become gradually damaged.
If the hole is small, it may not cause symptoms or problems. Many healthy adults still have a small leftover opening in the wall between the atria, sometimes called a Patent Foramen Ovale (PFO).