Francesca ’s story: Beating a heart tumor

Although her parents were warned she might not breathe when she was born, the moment Francesca Durkos came into this world, she let out a gutsy cry. “It was music to our ears,” says her mom. Michelle Carino Durkos was 40 weeks pregnant when she learned there was a tumor attached to her unborn daughter’s heart — a tumor so large that doctors near her home in Pensacola, Florida, were unsure if the baby would live. “It was a shock, because at 20 weeks everything was normal,” says Michelle. “We had a wonderful ultrasound; we saw all four chambers.” Yet, call it a mother’s intuition, Michelle knew something was wrong. “The whole pregnancy I had this strange feeling. I didn’t want to upset her, so I’d sleep sitting up, as if she was fragile — as if she was in distress.” Francesca in July 2012, shortly after her birth Cardiac fibroma: A devastating diagnosis Francesca’s tumor, a rapidly growing cardiac fibroma, is just one example of a group of benign congenital cardiac tumors that typically occur in children, and in most cases, are detected during in utero or infancy. But, because the heart is a vital organ, even benign tumors can be life threatening — interfering with the way the heart works, causing blockages and arrhythmias. In Francesca’s case, her heart-sized tumor triggered ventricular tachycardia, an abnormal heart rhythm that originates in the ventricles and is often associated with cardiac arrest. “We didn’t know if our child would l...
Source: Thrive, Children's Hospital Boston - Category: Pediatrics Authors: Tags: Our Patients’ Stories cardiac fibroma cardiac tumor Department of Cardiac Surgery Department of Cardiology Dr. Pedro del Nido Dr. Tal Geva echocardiogram ECMO Fetal Cardiology Program heart tumor neona ultrasound Source Type: news