A hole in the heart repaired
Several months after Vilma Patel suffered a heart attack, her family moved their 80-year-old mother and grandmother from India where she was residing, to their Lancaster County home. They wanted to ensure she was well cared for.
“We wanted her to be with family and get the best health care the possible,” explained her granddaughter, Nikita.
Her care soon included an advanced procedure to repair a ventricular septal defect (VSD)—a hole in her heart—performed by the Heart and Vascular team at Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health.
What is ventricular septal defect?
Ventricular septal defect, or VSD, is a common congenital (from birth) defect in children. In adults, however, the condition is a rare but serious complication of a heart attack. As in Patel's case, a heart attack can tear a hole between the heart’s ventricles, separating the lower chambers and creating VSD that needs to be repaired.
Vilma’s path to treatment
When Patel was admitted to Lancaster General Hospital, she was experiencing shortness of breath and chest pain. The Heart and Vascular team helped stabilize her and performed a 4D cardiac CT scan to look at her whole heart function.
This advanced imaging provided high-quality pictures and precise valve measurements that revealed that Patel's VSD was worsening, resulting in congestive heart failure. Her heart was pumping almost three times the normal amount of blood and could no longer keep up. Fluid was starting to build up in Patel's lungs.
“Typically, patients whose disease has progressed to this advanced stage are not candidates for surgery, the usual course of action to repair VSD,” explained T. Raymond Foley, MD, an interventional cardiologist, who treated Patel. “Fortunately for Vilma, our team had other options available.”
Structural Heart Program at Lancaster General Health
Experts in the Structural Heart Program at Lancaster General Health and throughout Penn Medicine offer advanced treatments for structural heart disease, including minimally invasive heart valve replacement procedures like trans-catheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR), trans-catheter mitral valve replacement (TMVR), and ventricular septal defect (VSD) repair.
Patel's care team determined she was a candidate for a trans-catheter VSD closure, a minimally invasive procedure done in the cardiac catheterization lab. Patel was the first patient at Lancaster General Hospital to benefit from this advanced procedure, which was performed by Foley and several colleagues.
Trans-cather VSD closure involves delivering a disc-like, mesh device through a vein in the neck and an artery in the leg. The device is then positioned within the “hole” between the two pumping chambers of the heart to repair it. Patel was discharged the day after the procedure, back to the care of her family.
Recovery and living a good life
More than a year later, Patel is continuing to feel good, and with the VSD completely repaired, her heart is strong and functioning normally.
“We were so thankful that my grandmother had this option and for the team that took care of her,” said her granddaughter. “Everyone was so caring and explained the procedure so clearly. We felt very confident that we were in good hands the entire time.”