First-of-Its-Kind Procedure at Silver Cross Hospital Helps Tinley Park Woman Solve a Congenital Heart Issue

A Vietnamese-born woman came to this country 15 years ago carrying something she had since birth: a congenital heart defect known as a patent ductus arteriosus.

She didn’t know she had a heart condition, and even if she had, the treatment she needed was not available in her country.

That all changed when she met Dr. Hazem Alhawasli, a structural interventional cardiologist on staff at Silver Cross Hospital in New Lenox.

“She had a patent ductus arteriosus or PDA,” Dr. Alhawasli said.

PDA is the most common heart condition in newborns. It occurs when a blood vessel called the ductus arteriosus doesn’t close as it should after birth.

“A PDA is a congenital heart defect that causes oxygen-rich blood to return to the lungs instead of going to the rest of the body. This means blood vessels in the lungs must handle more blood than normal, causing the heart and lungs to overwork and making breathing more difficult.”

Every year, about 1 in 2,000 babies are born with the defect, which is usually detected and then corrected during infancy. It’s more common in females than males.

However, the patient didn’t realize she had it until she started experiencing symptoms last year, her nephew, Thien Vu, said.

“She came to America in 2010, and since her English isn’t very good, she asks me to help her with medical-related questions,” said Vu, who is in a pre-med program in Florida.

Early last year, Vu’s aunt began to feel fatigued. She also struggled with getting a good night’s sleep. Her primary care doctor suggested she see a cardiologist, who tried treating it without success.

Then she found Silver Cross and Dr. Alhawasli, who diagnosed the condition and was optimistic he could treat the PDA using a minimally invasive catheter-based procedure versus open-heart surgery. In a transcatheter approach, a catheter is inserted – usually via the groin – and guided to the PDA in the heart. A device such as a coil or plug is then deployed to seal the abnormality. Benefits include a quicker recovery and a success rate of 90 to 95%.

For this first-of-its-kind procedure at Silver Cross, Dr. Alhawasli was assisted by another interventional cardiologist in one of the hospital’s state-of-the-art cardiac catheterization labs. The procedure was a success, and the patient began feeling better almost immediately.

Dr. Alhawasli recently saw her for a follow-up visit and said she was doing very well.

“The echocardiogram showed her PDA completely closed,” he said, adding the patient looks forward to returning to work as a nail technician.

“We’re so glad we found Dr. Alhawasli and Silver Cross Hospital,” Vu added. “And we hope others will pay attention to their heart issues and get them checked out.”

To learn more about the Midwest Institute for Heart at Silver Cross Hospital, visit silvercross.org/heart