A Patient's Story: How the Adult Congenital
Heart Center Gave One Man a New Lease on Life
Jim Hendrix is making up for lost time
Climbing the sides of mountains, leaping out of
planes, surfing the wild waves and cruising the asphalt
on two roaring wheels, Hendrix is now doing all the
things he never dreamed he could do as a child.
"There was always a constant worry my heart would
fail due to the limited amount of ways to help
children born with congenital heart defects back
then," said Hendrix. "I'm lucky that I survived
long enough for technology to catch up and help
me."
Hendrix was born with a condition called "Tetralogy
of Fallot." This condition consists of
a number of different congenital defects within
the heart.
Gary
Webb, MD is one of the world's foremost authorities
on adult congenital heart disease and leads the
Adult
Congenital Heart Center.
"Our center provides patients access to real
expertise in the area; it gives these patients
what they need," Dr. Webb explained. "The center
also has a multidisciplinary
team of experts to meet the specific needs
of patients."
Because the center caters to the needs of this population,
patients receive better information about their specific problems.
"This is information that has been unavailable up to this point,"
says Webb, "It allows them to take greater charge of their own
health and live longer."
"Thanks to advances in medical and surgical care, children
with congenital heart defects are now surviving into adulthood
- and thriving," said Thomas L. Spray, MD, chief, Division of
Cardiothoracic Surgery in the Cardiac Center at The Children's
Hospital of Philadelphia.
Spray continued: "As many as one million adults in the
United States are currently living with congenital heart disease.
These patients face unique challenges and require highly specialized
care to manage their medical and surgical needs."
Jim Hendrix found specialized, multi-disciplinary
care at the Philadelphia
Adult Congenital Heart Center. He adds: "Finally,
there's a center that cares and sees you through
life for this."
For more information or to schedule an appointment
at the Philadelphia Adult Congenital Heart Center,
call 1-800-789-PENN (7366) or visit http://philachd.org.
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