A congenital heart defect (CHD) is an irregularity in the heart or vessel structure that exists at birth. One of the most common congenital heart defects is an atrial septal defect (ASD), including patent foramen ovale (PFO). Some CHD can often cause congestive heart failure or heart disease as the defect makes a heart work harder than it should.
Atrial septal defects, in otherwise healthy patients with small defects, can go untreated. Commonly, the PFO will be repaired via surgery, but newer catheter-based options are now available. Treatments for atrial septal defects include:
Our cardiac specialists perform over 650 heart surgeries every year, including procedures performed using minimally invasive techniques.
Our interventional cardiologists boast a 100 percent success rate on catheter-based closure of a patent foramen ovale (PFO).