Special Report: Holes in the Heart

Gina Pease is an active mother of four, but when she was pregnant with her last child, she became worried about caring for them all.

Gina Pease
"I couldn't walk to my right even if I tried. And when I sat down again, I started to get a little dizzy."

At her local ER, doctors ran all kinds of tests. They weren't sure what happened - but what they did know was, Gina had a hole in her heart.

Gina Pease
"He said, you know you are at a higher risk of having a stroke because of it."

We're all born with a hole between the left and right sides of our heart, but in about 20 to 30 percent of the population it doesn't heal. Most people have no problems.

Dr. Thomas Piemonte, Lahey Clinic
"In the rare situations where you have a combination of a hole in your heart with the misfortune of a having a clot. It goes across the heart or to the left side of your body, and can go to your brain."

Doctors at Lahey Clinic think Gina had a small clot that traveled through the hole and eventually dissolved. Unlike a stroke, it didn't last long enough to scar the brain.

Gina had two treatment options: close the hole with surgery or take blood thinners for the rest of her life. It's a decision even doctors debate.

Dr. Kinan Hreib, Lahey Clinic
"By closing the hole, we may not have gotten rid of the clots that may be forming.

But for Gina - the decision was easy.

Gina Pease
"I have four children and I can't be worried about having a stroke at any point. I felt that having it closed would end it."

But one problem: Gina was carrying baby Serena.

Dr. Kinan Hreib, Lahey Clinic
"We had to put everything on hold until the baby was delivered."

After the birth, Dr. Piemonte performed surgery to close the opening. By inserting a catheter in a vein, this device is positioned over the hole and opened like an umbrella.

Dr. Thomas Piemonte, Lahey Clinic
"Over a period of months - usually 6 months - the body will heal over and that hole then becomes completely closed."

Today, Gina is a symptom-free, worry-free, very busy mom.

Gina Pease
"I don't have to, not anymore than anybody else, worry about a clot and having a stroke."

Currently - a clinical trial is underway to compare surgery versus blood thinners. Dr. Piemonte and Dr. Hreib are both participating.