BACKGROUND A patent foramen ovale (PFO) with atrial septal aneurysm (ASA) has been identified as a risk factor for cryptogenic stroke. Patients with migraine with aura (MA) appear to be at risk for silent brain infarction, which might be related to the presence of a PFO. However, the association between MA and PFO with ASA has never been reported. We examined this association in a large observa...

Patent foramen ovale (PFO) is associated with clinical conditions including cryptogenic stroke, migraine and varicose veins. Data from studies in humans and mouse suggest that PFO and the secundum form of atrial septal defect (ASDII) exist in an anatomical continuum of septal dysmorphogenesis with a common genetic basis. Mutations in multiple members of the evolutionarily conserved cardiac tran...

BACKGROUND Patients with a patent foramen ovale (PFO) and paradoxical embolism are at risk for recurrent thromboembolic events. This study investigated the long-term risk of recurrent thromboembolic events in patients with PFO and paradoxical embolism after percutaneous PFO closure. METHODS AND RESULTS Since 1994, a total of 80 patients with PFO and at least 1 paradoxical embolic event (trans...

PURPOSE Patent foramen ovale (PFO) has been implicated as a risk factor for cryptogenic ischemic stroke (CS). However, there is still a lack of widely accepted, undisputed indications for PFO closure. The present study describes the concept of the multidisciplinary PFO conference and a decision making process for closure versus no closure that was developed into a formalized clinical algorithm,...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW This review discusses current evidence on patent foramen ovale (PFO) closure compared with medical therapy alone in the prevention of stroke recurrence in patients with a PFO-associated cryptogenic stroke. RECENT FINDINGS The Risk of Paradoxical Embolism group built a 10-point Score, based on clinical parameters, that estimates the probability of finding a PFO in a patient w...

Clostridium perfringens causes gas gangrene and gastrointestinal disease in humans. These pathologies are mediated by potent extracellular protein toxins, particularly α-toxin and perfringolysin O (PFO). While α-toxin hydrolyzes phosphatidylcholine and sphingomyelin, PFO forms large transmembrane pores on cholesterol-containing membranes. It has been suggested that the ability of PFO to perfora...

P atent foramen ovale (PFO) is a common finding in the healthy population, with a prevalence of 27% in one necropsy study of 965 normal hearts from patients with no history of cardioembolic events. It is also the most common cardiac finding in young patients (, 55 years of age) with an unexplained cerebrovascular event, presumably caused by paradoxical emboli. The presumed mechanism is the migr...

Patent foramen ovale (PFO) can be found in approximately 25% of adult population. Transcatheter closure of PFO is a potential option in selected patients with PFO. We report a case of a female patient that underwent mapping and catheter ablation of atrial tachycardia and PFO closure in the same procedure.

Percutaneous patent foramen ovale (PFO) closure is mainly performed for secondary prevention of presumed paradoxical embolism. Since a residual shunt has been associated with recurrent events, complete PFO closure is desirable. We report the first case of ultimately successful percutaneous PFO closure using successively 3 Amplatzer PFO devices.

BACKGROUND Patent foramen ovale (PFO) is associated with cryptogenic stroke (CS), although the pathogenicity of a discovered PFO in the setting of CS is typically unclear. Transesophageal echocardiography features such as PFO size, associated hypermobile septum, and presence of a right-to-left shunt at rest have all been proposed as markers of risk. The association of these transesophageal echo...