Patent foramen ovale

Patent foramen ovale is incriminated in patients with cryptogenic stroke; however, concrete evidence that closure of patent foramen ovale using various devices is superior to continued medical therapy is not yet available. Controlled randomized trials are well underway to address this issue.     

Patent foramen ovale

Patent foramen ovale is incriminated in patients with cryptogenic stroke; however, concrete evidence that closure of patent foramen ovale using various devices is superior to continued medical therapy is not yet available. Controlled randomized trials are well underway to address this issue.     

Patent foramen ovale transcatheter closure device thrombosis

The role of patent foramen ovale (PFO) in patients with cryptogenic stroke (stroke of unknown cause) remains controversial, although an association seems likely in younger patients with atrial septal aneurysms and PFO. The mechanism of cryptogenic stroke in these patients is presumed to be paradoxical embolism via right-to-left shunt across the PFO. The available options for treatment include medical therapy with antiplatelet or anticoagulant therapy or closure of the PFO surgically or with use of transcatheter PFO closure devices. We describe 2 cases of bilateral device thrombosis associated with use of a transcatheter PFO closure device (CardioSEAL). To our knowledge, only 1 other case of thrombosis associated with use of this device has been reported.     

Current evidence for closure of a patent foramen ovale for cryptogenic stroke prevention

A patent foramen ovale (PFO) has long been implicated as a potential mechanism for cryptogenic stroke (CS), which accounts for up to 40% of all cases of ischaemic stroke. Although there is a strong association between a PFO and CS, there is less evidence that percutaneous closure of the defect, as opposed to medical therapy with antithrombotics or anticoagulants, is the most effective form of secondary prevention. The aim of this review is to examine the evidence comparing percutaneous closure with medical therapy, with a particular focus on three recently published randomised controlled trials.     

Clinical manifestation and current management of patent foramen ovale

There is increasing interest in the evaluation and treatment of patent foramen ovale, which has been associated with various pathologic conditions, such as cryptogenic stroke, platypnea–orthodeoxia syndrome and migraine. However, optimal treatment of patients with patent foramen ovale has not been established. This article aims to review the clinical manifestation and current therapeutic options for patent foramen ovale.     

Sustained risk of recurrent thromboembolic events in patients with patent foramen ovale and paradoxical embolism: long-term follow-up over more than 15 years

Background  

Patients with patent foramen ovale (PFO) and cryptogenic stroke are at risk of recurrence. Therapeutic regimens range from no treatment to anticoagulation treatment to surgical or interventional closure. However, long-term follow-up is only available for up to 4 years.     

Closing the gap on patent foramen ovale and cryptogenic stroke

Introduction: The treatment options for prevention of recurrent of cryptogenic stroke in patients with patent foramen ovale (PFO) have been intensely debated in the recent decades. The suggested options were percutaneous closure of PFO versus medical therapy. However, up to these date there is a controversy regarding the indication of percutaneous closure. Multiple meta-analysis and recent randomized control trials showed the benefit of PFO closure when compared with medical therapy alone.

Areas covered: The article reviews the prevalence, physiology, diagnosis and treatment options of PFO after cryptogenic stroke. Furthermore, it will discuss the results of randomized control trials that compared the PFO closure to medical therapy.

Expert opinion: The association between PFO and unexplained cryptogenic stroke has been well established in the multiple studies. The diagnosis and management of PFO might be challenging in some cases. Although multiple studies showed that PFO closure is associated with lower rates of recurrent stroke in patients presenting with cryptogenic stroke, the indication and patient selection for this intervention are not well established yet in the guidelines.     

封堵卵圆孔未闭预防卒中的国外发展及中国现状

经过近20年的争议和大量研究,封堵卵圆孔未闭(patent foramen ovale,PFO)在卒中二级预防中的作用已经明确.本文从循证医学证据入手,回顾近年来国内外经导管封堵PFO预防卒中的研究成果,旨在明确能从封堵治疗中获益的PFO人群.     

Patent foramen ovale and cryptogenic stroke.

Strokes are the leading cause of long-term, serious disability. A variety of identifiable risk factors exists for the development of a stroke. Individuals who had no definite and clearly identifiable cause for a stroke experience a cryptogenic stroke. The presence of a patent foramen ovale, a flaplike opening of the atrial septum between the septum primum and secundum, contributes to a 40% to 56% incidence of a cryptogenic stroke. This article reviews the pathophysiology of a patent foramen ovale, the diagnostic tests, and nurse's awareness of the potential etiology of a stroke in a younger individual.     

The role of environment and epigenetics in hypertension

Patent foramen ovale has been suggested to be a risk factor for cryptogenic stroke by means of paradoxical embolism. The data, however, are complex, conflicting and largely unavailable. In this review, we attempt to summarize the existing data separately for the questions of whether patent foramen ovale is associated with cryptogenic stroke and whether it is a risk factor for a first ischemic stroke and for recurrent strokes. Treatment options will be discussed, and the different viewpoints from the two specialists mainly involved in the care of those complex patients (neurologists and cardiologists) will be provided.     

Patent foramen ovale: a nonfunctional embryological remnant or a potential cause of significant pathology?

A patent foramen ovale (PFO) is an embryological remnant found in 27% of adults. It is a potential right-to-left intracardiac shunt. Shunting may be the result of reversal in the interatrial pressure gradient or abnormal streaming of blood in the right atrium. The pathologic consequences of right-to-left shunting include hypoxemia and paradoxical embolism. PFO may exacerbate preexisting hypoxemia or be its primary cause. Paradoxical embolism through a PFO is well documented. Its role in cryptogenic stroke remains controversial. A PFO may be detected by both invasive and noninvasive techniques. Contrast transesophageal echocardiography with provocative maneuvers is the diagnostic method of choice allowing visualization of the shunt. Patients with cryptogenic stroke should be screened for a PFO. If detected, noninvasive studies for deep vein thrombosis are recommended. Treatment must be tailored to the presentation. Surgical or transcatheter closure is recommended for hypoxemia. Prevention of venous embolism (air or thrombus) with or without closure of the PFO is recommended for paradoxical embolism.     

Intra-atrial thrombus after surgical closure of patent foramen ovale.

Patent foramen ovale (PFO) represents a potential path for paradoxical embolism and is associated with cryptogenic stroke. It has been suggested that because a PFO represents a repairable lesion (by surgical or transcatheter methods), repair may be the optimal treatment to prevent recurrent stroke. This report describes a patient with recurrent neurologic and peripheral embolic events, which occurred approximately 6 months after the surgical closure of a PFO. The diagnosis of an intra-atrial thrombus with a small residual PFO was made by subsequent transesophageal echocardiography. Thrombus formation at the closure site needs to be considered in a patient with recurrent embolic events after closure of a PFO.     

Cryptogenic stroke: time to determine aetiology

Summary.  Strokes that remain without a definite cause even after extensive work-up are classified as cryptogenic. These constitute about 30–40% of all strokes. Stroke aetiology may remain undetermined for the following reasons: (i) the cause of stroke is transitory or reversible and the diagnostic work-out is not therefore performed at the appropriate time; (ii) all known causes of stroke are not fully investigated; (iii) some causes of stroke remain unknown. Recent studies have challenged the previous view that cryptogenic stroke is a relatively benign cerebrovascular event, and have shown that cryptogenic stroke is associated with a higher rate of recurrence and adverse outcome at long-term follow-up. The determination of stroke aetiology is a valuable procedure to avoid the risk of stroke recurrence, especially in young patients. In this review, we discuss new evidence on the aetiology of cryptogenic stroke, specifically focusing on patients with patent foramen ovale and atheroma of the aortic arch.     

经食管超声心动图联合PLR、NLR对卵圆孔未闭合并隐源性卒中患者的诊断价值

  目的  探讨经食道心脏超声(TEE)联合血小板/淋巴细胞比值(PLR)、中性粒细胞/淋巴细胞比值(NLR)在卵圆孔未闭(PFO)患者合并隐源性卒中的评估应用。  方法  选取本院2019年8月~2021年8月收治的卵圆孔未闭患者132例,其中合并隐源性卒中23例。所有患者均接受TEE检测,测量PFO直径,并行血常规检测,根据血小板、淋巴细胞、中性粒细胞计数计算PLR、NLR比值,比较PFO合并隐源性卒中和未合并隐源性卒中PLR、NLR比值的差异性,采用Spearman法分析PFO直径、PLR、NLR与PFO合并隐源性卒中的相关性,采用ROC曲线分析PFO直径和PLR、NLR检测在卵圆孔未闭合并隐源性卒中的评估价值。  结果  TEE检测发现PFO未合并隐元性卒中患者PFO直径低于合并隐源性卒中(P < 0.05),造影可见房水平不同级别的右向左分流;PFO患者合并隐源性卒中PLR、NLR比值高于未合并隐源性卒中患者(P < 0.05);Spearman分析显示:PFO直径及PLR、NLR比值与PFO合并隐源性卒中风险呈正相关关系(r=0.385、0.429、0.378,P < 0.05);ROC曲线显示:PFO直径联合PLR、NLR评估PFO合并隐源性卒中风险曲线下面积高于PLR、NLR单项指标曲线下面积(P < 0.05)。  结论  TEE可以较好地分辨PFO直径,结合PLR、NLR检测有助于评估PFO合并隐源性卒中的发生风险。      

Population-based study of the relationship between patent foramen ovale and cerebrovascular ischemic events

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether patent foramen ovale (PFO) is a risk factor for a cryptogenic cerebrovascular ischemic event (CIE). METHODS: This case-control study of 1072 residents of Olmsted County, Minnesota, who underwent contrast transesophageal echocardiography between 1993 and 1997 included 519 controls without CIE randomly selected from the population, 262 controls without CIE referred for transesophageal echocardiography because of cardiac disease, 158 cases with incident CIE of obvious cause (noncryptogenic), and 133 cases with incident CIE of uncertain cause (cryptogenic). RESULTS: Large PFOs were detected in 108 randomly selected controls (20.8%), 22 referred controls (8.4%), 17 noncryptogenic CIE cases (10.8%), and 22 cryptogenic CIE cases (16.5%). After adjustment for age, sex, hypertension, smoking, atrial fibrillation, ischemic heart disease, and number of contrast injections, the presence of a large PFO was not significantly associated with group status (P=.07). Using the odds of the presence of large PFO in the randomly selected controls as the reference, the odds ratio (95% confidence interval) of the presence of large PFO was 0.47 (0.26-0.87) for referred controls, 0.69 (0.37-1.29) for noncryptogenic CIE cases, and 1.10 (0.63-1.90) for cryptogenic CIE cases. CONCLUSIONS: Patent foramen ovale is not a risk factor for cryptogenic ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack in the general population. The PFO's importance in the genesis of cryptogenic CIE may have been overestimated in previous studies because of selective referral of cases and underascertainment of PFO among comparison groups of patients referred for echocardiography for clinical indications other than cryptogenic CIE.     

An unusual case of stroke in a young patient

The patent foramen ovale (PFO) has been increasingly implicated in the aetiology of stroke, particularly in young patients with no other identifiable cause (cryptogenic stroke). A case of Parinaud's syndrome secondary to thromboembolism from a PFO is reported here.     

Transcatheter closure for decompression sickness with a patent foramen ovale: A case report

A patent foramen ovale is one of the predisposing factors of neurotic decompression sickness. Transcatheter closure of a patent foramen ovale is effective in the secondary prevention of decompression sickness associated with intracardiac shunt. The size of the umbrella should not be limited to the diagnosis of a patent foramen ovale or an atrial septal defect but should be determined by the supporting force of the soft margin of the atrial septum. The surgical method of patent foramen ovale closure is the same as that of the closure of an atrial septal defect, but the closure umbrella of a patent foramen ovale is different from that of the closure umbrella of an atrial septal defect. The size of the umbrella of the right atrium is larger than that of the left atrium, and it is better to close the atrial septum.     

Patent Foramen Ovale: Pivotal Role of Transesophageal Echocardiography in the Indications for Closure,Assessment of Varying Anatomies and Post-procedure Follow-up

Patent foramen ovale (PFO) is present in 15%–30% of the general population and has been associated with various pathologic states, including cryptogenic stroke, platypnea–orthodeoxia syndrome, decompression sickness and migraine with auras. Transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) has a major role in the diagnostic evaluation of PFO, as well as in the post-procedural assessment after transcatheter closure. The goals of this article were to synthesize the echocardiographic transesophageal techniques required for accurate PFO diagnosis and careful anatomic assessment of its anatomic variants, to focus TEE indications for device closure as complementary to clinical indications and to assess the role of TEE in the post-procedure follow-up.     

Patent foramen ovale and cryptogenic stroke: contemporary evidence and treatment

Introduction: Patent foramen ovale (PFO) is a common anatomical variant in the adult circulation. It is a channel allowing communication between the left and right atria and is a remnant of the foetal circulation. In approximately 25% of the population, this channel persists into adulthood. PFO has been proposed as a potential pathophysiological mechanism for cryptogenic stroke.

Areas covered: This review will examine the contemporary evidence for both the association between cryptogenic stroke and PFO and the management of this condition. The authors hope to provide a comprehensive overview of the current evidence and best practice in relation to PFO closure. In addition, the authors will propose some potential avenues for future research in this controversial area and try to predict how PFOs in cryptogenic stroke will be managed in the near future.

Expert commentary: In carefully selected patients with cryptogenic stroke, PFO closure represents an evidence based treatment option for the prevention of further ischemic neurological events. A multidisciplinary approach is necessary to ensure appropriate patient selection for the procedure. This should include a vascular neurologist/stroke physician and an interventional cardiologist with an interest in PFO closure.     

超声心动图诊断卵圆孔未闭

卵圆孔未闭（PFO）在成人的发生率约20%~25%,其与年轻患者的隐源性卒中、短暂性脑缺血发等多种疾病有关。超声心动图在PFO的诊断、经皮封堵术中监测及术后随访中均有重要价值。本文对PFO的超声心动图诊断做一综述。