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 ST. LOUIS (Ivanhoe Broadcast News) -- A hole in the heart is the most common type of heart defect that babies are born with. Often, the holes will close by themselves. But if those holes don't close, the result could be congestive heart failure. Now, there is a new way to close the holes without the need for open-heart surgery.
Eleven-year-old Rista Tweedy is surprisingly calm when she recalls the day her parents told her she needed heart surgery. She says, "They just told me something was wrong with it. They're gonna' fix it."
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Tweedy was born with a hole in her heart. Her blood spills into the opposite heart chamber. If it's not fixed, it could lead to heart failure. But the standard fix isn't easy -- it's open-heart surgery.
Interventional pediatric cardiologist David Balzer, M.D., from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, says, "They actually take a bone saw, and they cut through the breastbone, open it up, and then spread it open so that they expose the heart."
 But Dr. Balzer offered Tweedy a new procedure done through a tiny puncture in the groin artery and vein. First, he slides small tubes up the artery into the heart chambers. "Through those tubes, we can deliver a device which looks a little bit like an Oreo cookie. It has two disks and a central sort-of connecting waist," Dr. Balzer explains.
That "cookie" covers the hole. Dr. Balzer says, "It's similar to putting a cork in a bottle, in terms of an analogy, or the little Dutch boy who has his finger in the dike."
Remember that leak in Tweedy's heart? Her heart now has no leaks. She is back to her favorite pastime without heart worries.
 Tweedy's mother, Angela, says, "I'd say, more than anything she's very, very determined. If you tell her she can't, she will do anything to prove you wrong." And she sets her goals high. At least now she knows she'll have the stamina -- and the heart -- to do both.
The procedure is still under study and has not been FDA approved. Dr. Balzer says the study is expanding and will include about 20 centers across the country in the next phase.
This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, who offers Medical Alerts by e-mail every day of the week. To subscribe, go to: http://www.ivanhoe.com/newsalert/.
If you would like more information, please contact:
Diane Duke Williams
Public Relations
Washington University School of Medicine
4444 Forest Park, Campus Box 8508
St. Louis, MO 63108-2212
(314) 286-0111
williamsdia@wustl.edu
http://www.amplatzer.com
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