Atrial septal defect

[winnapooh]

I was recently diagnosed with an atrial septal defect (a hole in my heart). Has anyone here had experience with this as an adult? I'm going for a trans-esophegal echocardiogram this week, and will get the results in a couple of weeks, as well as when I will need surgery to correct it.

The day I get my results we are leaving for Disney World. I plan to talk to the cardiologist about it, but I was wondering if anyone has any experience with this, and if there might potentially be any ride restrictions? I've ridden everything at Disney World many times, with no issue, but somehow now knowing that I have a heart condition makes me question some things (specifically Mission: Space (orange)). How about restrictions after surgery?

TIA

 

[SueM in MN]

You will need to talk to your doctor for specific restrictions and whether surgery will remove the need for any restrictions, but I can give you a list of the attractions that WDW has put warnings on:

You can look at the park maps for the attractions with warnings - they are marked with a red triangle on the map and also on a sign at the entrance to the queue.
The wording for the general warning is:
WARNING! For safety, you should be in good health and free from high blood pressure, heart, back or neck problems, motion sickness, or other conditions that could be aggravated by this adventure. Expectant mothers should not ride.

For Epcot here are the attractions with warnings:

• Mission Space
• Test Track

For Magic Kingdom:

• Splash Mountain
• Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
• Tomorrowland Indy Speedway
• Space Mountain
• Goofy's Barnstormer (this doesn't have a triangle warning sign on the map, but does say that pregnant women should not ride, so it's not completely tame)

For Disney Studio

• Star Tours
• Rock N Roller Coaster
• Tower of Terror

For Animal Kingdom:

• Kilimanjaro Safari
• Kali River Rapids
• Expedition Everest
• Primeval Whirl
• Dinosaur

WDW puts out the warnings, but it is up to you to decide whether or not to ride. I would specifically not ride Mission Space Orange with any kind of heart problem - the ride uses a centrifuge to simulate weighlessness that subjects the body to much higher G forces than you would get anywhere else. There was one young boy who died from a heart related problem after being on it, so that is one attraction I would not try knowing I had a problem.