Nearly month back i got to know that i have small ASD measuring 15 mm. i am completely asymptomatic till today (i am 31 years adult ). when consulted many intervention cardiologist got 2 opinions .
1> operate immediately with device closure means.
2> just keep doing regular checkup yearly , if PA pressure is as low as 25 ,there is no harm and device can cause many harms .so only operate in future in case PA pressure reaches near 50.shunt reversal only occurs after PA pressure reaches 100, so dont worry stay healthy and just keep doing check on PA pressure
whom should i listen ?
I am a working women , I handle very stressful work for 8 hours daily, prepare food , manage whole house , don't find fatigue or any other major symptoms . Only symptom I observed is shortness of breath when I go for difficult treks on very high altitude. I have hashimoto's thyroidism as well and to keep it in control I follow vegan lifestyle by eating many vegetables and fruits and consuming less salt ,sugar ,gluten.
Last 2 months went in preparing funds for operation and reading about device closure procedure , whether to choose Helex \Amplatzer . nickel titanium reaction , post op leaves management from work , migrains and the worst thing Asprine for lifetime although initially everyone says its just 6 months .When I met one of the super talented doctor he simply said u managed to have BP 70-110 , heart rate per minute is 60 -64. Pulmonary artery pressure is 32 Mg at max in one of the Test .
TEE( transesophagal test ) says it may be 15 mm ASD , at the same time this doctor said it can be smaller than that as this test tries to predict the size. I heard when shunt reversal happens from right to left this becomes very complicated so I wanted to operate it as soon as possible even though it was bit difficult to manage the funds and rest all factors . After meeting this doctor I realised shunt reversal does not happen unless the pressure goes as high as 100.
Doctor suggested to take check-ups every year and know PA pressure , if all things are going smooth there is no point in injecting metal in the body and deal with the side effects of the same .In his opinion ASD closure should be performed only if some symptoms comes up and if there are scientific must reasons to close the same .he said if next 10 years u r PA pressure remains same and u r healthy why would you carry device inside you .only go for it when it is troubling and by that time may be there will be some advancements in medical science .Maybe with your healthy vegan lifestyle you will never have any issues till late 60 -70.
I want to know if there is some one with untreated ASD living healthy life without any troubles .