Delayed by Fear for Years: Ms. Debby Finally Has Her ASD Closed

Ms. Debby, from Surabaya, had known since childhood that there was a hole in the wall of her heart. Fear kept her putting off treatment for a long time. When her symptoms became more frequent, she looked for another way and eventually had the hole closed at Heartology.

The First Symptoms

“I've had ASD since I was little, a leaky heart,” Ms. Debby recalled. An Atrial Septal Defect (ASD) is a hole in the wall between the heart's upper chambers that is present from birth, often called a leaky heart. For years she could still go about her daily activities. Lately, though, she often felt weak and had a cough that would not go away, especially during the winter. A chest X-ray then showed that her heart and lungs looked swollen.

She went for a check-up at a hospital abroad. The doctors there judged that the hole was already too large and that she had pulmonary hypertension, high blood pressure in the blood vessels of the lungs, so the hole was not closed. She was asked to come back for a follow-up in six months. Ms. Debby was still afraid. She did not yet understand the procedure and worried that a heart used to being enlarged would be shocked if the hole were suddenly closed.

Finding Answers at Heartology

Reluctant to travel abroad again, Ms. Debby looked for options in Jakarta. She received many recommendations from friends and other doctors, saw the profile of dr. Radityo Prakoso, Sp.JP (K) on Instagram, and even used an artificial intelligence app to search for options. Her first meeting with dr. Radityo convinced her. “I trusted Dr. Radit, because when I came in he said, oh, this can be done, it can be closed right away,” she recalled.

During her time at Heartology, she felt comfortable with the care she received. The nurses, she said, were kind and responded quickly whenever she needed medicine or other help. She also felt close to her doctor. “Dr. Radit is already like a friend,” she said.

Having the ASD Closed

Ms. Debby's ASD closure took about an hour and a half. She said she felt no pain at all during the procedure. The next day she was already back to her activities. On the day the video was recorded, she had even done yoga. Climbing stairs felt easy, and her heart no longer felt noisy the way it used to.

From her experience, Ms. Debby hopes people will not leave an ASD untreated for too long. Many people with ASD, she said, feel no symptoms and can still live normally, which makes it easy to put off. In her view, it is better to close an ASD in childhood to avoid the risk of complications such as stroke later in life. If you or a family member has an ASD, discuss the right timing for treatment with a cardiologist.