Newswise — Philadelphia, Pa. (July 22, 2013) - Mark Feuerstein plays a brilliant physician on the hit TV show Royal Pains, but the drama was all too real when his newborn daughter Addie was diagnosed with a rare congenital heart defect. Fortunately, this scary episode had a happy ending, thanks to a determined mother and expert medical care, reports an article in the August issue of Heart Insight, a quarterly magazine for patients, their families and caregivers. Heart Insight is published by the American Heart Association (AHA) and Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health.
Mark shares the story of Addie's illness, setbacks, and ultimately successful treatment with Heart Insight's Linda Childers. Mark hopes his experience will bring hope to the thousands of U.S. families with infants born with congenital heart defects each year. You can read Addie's story—along with a special online-only bonus article on congenital heart defects in infants—using the new Heart Insight iPad® app, available as a free download from the iTunes app store.
'Fussy Baby' Turned Out to Have a Rare Heart DefectBorn in 2009, Mark's daughter Adelaide was a "fussy" baby. At first she was diagnosed with reflux—a common problem in infants. But even with treatment, Addie didn't gain weight and continued to "scream and cry" after feedings. Mark's wife, Dana Klein, was "unflagging" in seeking further medical evaluation—until an electrocardiogram showed irregularities with Addie's heart.
On further testing, Addie was diagnosed with a rare and potentially fatal heart defect called "anomalous left coronary from the pulmonary artery," or ALCAPA. Affecting less than 1 out of 10,000 live births, this congenital defect occurs when the one of the arteries supplying the heart connects to the wrong place. Because of its rarity and unusual signs and symptoms, ALCAPA can be difficult to diagnose.
At six months of age, Addie underwent open heart surgery to correct her heart defect. But her recovery was slow, and a few weeks later she underwent further surgery to repair a heart valve—already damaged because of the heart defect.
This time Addie recovered well, and she was able to go home after nearly 90 days in the hospital. Now four years old, Addie is an active and thriving child. Mark and Dana are eager to share their story, including photos and videos taken when Addie was ill, with other families of children with congenital heart defects. "Our hope is they might watch and see that as scary as it looks, there really can be a happy outcome," says Mark.
Get the Whole Story on Heart Insight for the iPadAddie's story draws attention to congenital heart defects, which are diagnosed in about 32,000 infants each year. To read the full article, visit the iTunes app store and download the free Heart Insight app. Once you've downloaded the app, each issue of Heart Insight will be delivered directly to your iPad as soon as it's published. Heart Insight for the iPad is a convenient way to read inspiring and informative stories of people successfully managing heart disease. Each colorful issue provides practical and trustworthy information on getting healthy and staying healthy, including features on heart disease and prevention, medical diagnosis and treatment, diet and lifestyle, and much more.
No iPad? No problem! You can also access each issue of Heart Insight on your computer, smartphone, or other device. Just point your browser to www.HeartInsight.com. You can access a special online bonus story including information on congenital heart defects, including potential causative factors, symptoms, and valuable online sources of information and support.
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About Heart InsightAn official publication of the American Heart Association (AHA), Heart Insight is the first AHA consumer magazine―for patients, families, and their caregivers―that focuses exclusively on managing and preventing cardiovascular disease and related conditions. Heart Insight offers hope, inspiration, and encouragement by featuring articles about, and by, people who have first-hand experience dealing with cardiovascular conditions, either as patients or as caregivers themselves. Heart Insight is lively and upbeat, providing readers with the most up-to-date, authoritative and practical advice on a wide range of heart-related conditions on a quarterly basis. Heart Insight is available at cardiology offices and in other healthcare settings, as well as free online at www.HeartInsight.com.
About Wolters Kluwer HealthWolters Kluwer Health is a leading global provider of information, business intelligence and point-of-care solutions for the healthcare industry. Serving more than 150 countries and territories worldwide, Wolters Kluwer Health’s customers include professionals, institutions and students in medicine, nursing, allied health and pharmacy. Major brands include Health Language®, Lexicomp®, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Medicom®, Medknow, Ovid®, Pharmacy OneSource®, ProVation® Medical, and UpToDate®.
Wolters Kluwer Health is part of Wolters Kluwer, a market-leading global information services company. Wolters Kluwer had 2012 annual revenues of €3.6 billion ($4.6 billion), employs approximately 19,000 people worldwide, and maintains operations in over 40 countries across Europe, North America, Asia Pacific, and Latin America. Follow our official Twitter handle: @WKHealth.
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