Children's Hearts

Jasur's heart is malformed, with abnormal positioning of the great vessels and stenosis of the pulmonary artery. Consequently, he experiences persistent weakness and shortness of breath.

A pediatrician detected a noise in the heart when Jasur was only one month old. In Tajikistan the boy was placed under medical observation, medications were prescribed, but surgical intervention was declined,…

Two months after her birth, Shifo began to fall ill and suffocate frequently. Medical examinations revealed that she has a congenital heart defect — an atrial septal defect. This condition causes an opening between the heart’s upper chambers (atria) that should not be there in a healthy person. Doctors in Tajikistan made the correct diagnosis but were unable to perform the surgery.

However,…