When is it too late for a correction of an atrial septal defect secundum type in an adult patient?

Atrial septal defects (ASD) are among the most commonly recognized congenital cardiac anomalies presenting in adulthood, characterized by a defect in the interatrial septum allowing blood from the left atrium to pass to the right atrium. In this article we present a clinical case of a 39-year-old female patient with uncorrected ASD secundum type, diagnosed in adulthood after cardiac morphologic and functional changes have been developed. At the time of presentation, clinical symptoms required exclusion of life-threatening complications such as infective endocarditis, located at the interatrial defect. After careful evaluation, surgical approach was chosen for our patient and the defect was closed using pericardial patch with rapid patient's recovery and significant clinical improvement.