Atrial Septal Defect

  My 6 month only daughter has been diagnosed with Atrial Septal Defect.  Because she is not showing any symptoms at this point, the cardiologist would like to wait until she is a year in a half and do another echo and then decide what course of treatment is best for her.
  I have been involved in a support group for parents with children who have cardiac issues and I am receiving information about their children's experiences with ASD.  It appears that some children are having surgery right away to correct the problem and others are waiting till they are between 2-4 to correct the problem.
  My question is this, if you had a child who had ASD with no symptoms presently but with a size of 5 mm, what would you do?  Would you wait another year to have an echo done, or would you get a second opinion now.
  Thanks for your time.

[CCF Cardio MD - MTR]

Dear Devorah, thank you for your question.  This is a controversial area, as you have found out. It's encouraging that the size of your daughter's ASD is small (< 1 cm) and she is asymptomatic.  The problem with repairing the ASD as this point is that the tissue used to repair the defect may not grown as she develops.  If she is followed closely by a cardiologist and she is monitored for the development of symptoms, then she should have a good outcome when the decision is made to repair the ASD.  Thus, I agree with the opinion of the cardiologist that you have seen, but if you feel a second opinion is needed, then you should get one.  I can't give you specific advice regarding that question in this forum, but I think the present course of action sounds appropriate.
I hope you find this information useful.  Information provided in the heart forum is for general purposes only.  Only your physician can provide specific diagnoses and therapies. Please feel free to write back with additional questions.
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