Hello Dr, my sister in law is currently in icu at a hospital in Rome Italy. She is undergoing some test but the initial diagnosis is congenital heart defect. They have found a 2cm hole. For many years she has been in and out of doctors surgeries complaining of shortness of breath, feeling of anxiety, fatigue and they did discover last year some breed of worms in her gut which she was given treatment for. But otherwise the treatments were for stress and anxiety. She is 43, very slim around 52 kg and is 180cm tall. The doctors have said the treatment will either be by inserting a catheter with an umbrella to block to hole or open heart surgery. My question is how serious is either option and what are the risks and dangers and chances of survival. Do people die from this? Thank you