A variation in right atrial and pulmonary arterial pressure might result in a shunt dynamic across a patent foramen ovale (PFO). In the present study we tested if peak exercise facilitates a restoration of right to left shunt (RLS) in stroke patients who demonstrated a functional PFO closure (no evidence of RLS across an initially demonstrated PFO). In stroke patients with PFO demonstrating a f...

OBJECTIVE To compare the safety and efficacy of percutaneous closure of patent foramen ovale (PFO) with the Amplatzer PFO occluder (Amplatzer) or the PFO STAR device (STAR) in patients with presumed paradoxical embolism. METHODS Implantation characteristics, procedural complications, residual shunt, and recurrence of thromboembolic events were recorded prospectively in 100 consecutive patient...

Study Objectives: Patent foramen ovale (PFO) is an independent risk factor for ischemic stroke by means of paradoxical embolization, due to right-to-left shunt (RLSh). The higher prevalence of PFO found in OSAS respect to the general population could be due to the chronic effect of the intrathoracic pressure changes during periods of obstructive sleep apnea. This study aimed to re-evaluate the ...

The increase in life expectance makes the diagnosis of PFO a possible and not easily manageable event in patients > 60-years-old due to the presence of different comorbidities and in particular of diastolic dysfunction which is considered as a contraindication to PFO closure. The literature review suggests that aged patients with PFO cannot be excluded “a priori” from PFO closure that should ev...

Up to 40% of ischemic strokes have no known cause (cryptogenic). The prevalence of persistent foramen ovale (PFO) amongst patients with cryptogenic stroke (CS) is twice as high as that of the normal population, therefore suggesting a causal relationship between the two entities. However, PFO by itself is not sufficient to cause stroke, as an embolic source is needed. This source is often unknow...

INTRODUCTION Patent foramen ovale (PFO) is associated with cryptogenic strokes, recurrent transient neurologic deficits, sleep apnea, decompression illness and migraines with aura. AIM We verify cryptogenic embolism recurrence after transcatheter PFO closure in patients younger than 55 years old, and determine the prevalence of migraine with aura before and after PFO closure. MATERIAL AND M...

BACKGROUND A patent foramen ovale (PFO) is strongly associated with cryptogenic stroke (CS), neurological and other phenomena. The reported prevalence of PFO varies according to the imaging technique used and population studied. PURPOSE To measure prospectively, the prevalence of PFO in a cohort of consecutive patients attending for routine "coronary" CT angiography using standard, everyday c...

It has been hypothesized that human renal apical membrane transporters play a key role in human renal reabsorption of perfluorooctanoate (PFO), which contributes to the long half-life of PFO in humans. In the present study, PFO uptake kinetics of human organic anion-transporting polypeptide (OATP) 1A2, organic anion transporter (OAT) 4, and urate transporter 1 (URAT1) in stably transfected cell...

Patent foramen ovale (PFO) has been known to be the cause of transient ischemic attacks or stroke, and transcatheter device closure has been the treatment of choice for these defects. Combined defect of abnormal drainage of left superior vena cava (LSVC) to left superior pulmonary vein (LSPV) in PFO patients is an uncommon combination, and both can act as a pathway for paradoxical embolism. We ...

BACKGROUND The association between patent foramen ovale (PFO) and migraine with aura (MA) is well established. However, the benefits of PFO closure are less certain in patients with migraine without aura (MwoA). METHODS We systematically searched Pubmed for pertinent clinical studies published from January 2000 to July 2015. The primary end-point was the elimination or significant improvement...