By Carol Barbieri
November 29, 2005
Op-Ed Contributor | Atlantic Highlands, N.J.
“It’s been 14 years, but I can still feel the terror that gripped me when our son’s cardiologist asked my husband and me if Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome ran in our family.
Getting my husband’s family medical history was as simple as calling his mother. But I’m adopted: I didn’t know who in my family may have had this heart condition, and it wouldn’t be easy to find out.
And yet, my medical history was crucial to treating our son. If the syndrome did not run in my family, the doctor counseled that my son would run an elevated risk of sudden death, and she’d be inclined to perform the corrective operation right away. But its rate of success at the time was just 50 percent. She was hoping she could postpone the operation for a few years until surgeons grew better at the procedure. The difference could mean life or death.” – From the Article