Boston Medical Center

Last year, 29-year-old Alex Marques ended up at his local hospital with a bout of pneumonia. Concerned about the possibility of meningitis, his care team performed CT scans of his neck and chest. Though the scans thankfully ruled out meningitis, they revealed a dilated pulmonary artery. Within weeks, he was meeting with cardiologist Dr. Amrit Misra at the Cardiovascular Center at Boston Medical Center.

“It was wild,” Alex says. “When I met with Dr. Misra, he asked me about my symptoms and listened to my heart and immediately said, ‘I think you have a hole in your heart.’”

Testing confirmed that Dr. Misra was right: Alex was indeed born with an atrial septal defect (ASD) or a hole in the wall of his heart. Dr. Misra, a specialist in adult congenital heart conditions, told Alex they could close his ASD to improve his symptoms and help prevent future complications.

“I played a lot of sports when I was younger, and I remember having chest tightness and being out of breath sooner than other kids, but I never was diagnosed with asthma or anything," says Alex. "Now that I look back, it makes a lot more sense I was having all these symptoms. It was very validating."

Today, Alex says his breathing and chest pressure have really improved. When he’s not bartending at a local brewery, Alex enjoys hanging out with his fiancée, her 10-year-old daughter and their two cats. He looks forward to his continued good health and follow-up visits at BMC. “Everybody at BMC was awesome,” he says. “Dr. Misra is very personable and kind. He is honestly one of the best doctors I've ever had!”

Get Alex's full story: https://bit.ly/4wDyPi7