AIMS To compare clinical outcome of Amplatzer PFO (APFO) to Cardia PFO (CPFO) occluder. Percutaneous patent foramen ovale (PFO) closure prevents stroke recurrence in stroke due to paradoxical embolism. METHODS AND RESULTS The primary endpoint was a composite of stroke, TIA, or peripheral embolism at follow-up. The secondary endpoint was residual shunt. Outcome was compared among 934 (APFO: 71...

BACKGROUND Several studies have shown an association of cryptogenic stroke and embolism with patent foramen ovale (PFO), but the question how to prevent further events in such patients is unresolved. Options include antithrombotic treatment with warfarin or antiplatelet agents or surgical or endovascular closure of the PFO. The PC-Trial was set up to compare endovascular closure and best medica...

Patent foramen ovale (PFO) is a common congenital cardiac abnormality that affects one-quarter of the general population. Hypoxaemia, because large right-to-left shunt, rare complication PFO and occurs under exceptional physiological conditions. Case: This 90-year-old lady presented with progressive dyspnoea over several months. At presentation to hospital, she was hypoxaemic pO2 53 mmHg oxygen...

Case presentation: A 34-year-old woman was admitted for chest pain lasting 5 hours. She had been in excellent health except for migraine attacks with rare aura that kept her away from work about twice a month. She took no medication except for birth control pills. The ECG was unrevealing, but cardiac biomarkers were elevated. Emergency cardiac catheterization showed an occluded small left circu...

background: transcatheter occlusion of the patent ductus arteriosus (pda) is a minimally invasive treatment. the appropriate device size is chosen based on the angiographic measurement of the pda . the current study aimed to assess the relationship between the transthoracic echocardiographic (tte) measurements of the pda prior to the occlusion procedure and the actual size of the deployed devic...

double anti-aggregation therapy. The clinical follow-up at 4 months was satisfactory. The prevalence of PFO in patientswith a history of stroke ranges between 20% and 40%, and the estimated annual rate of recurrent ictus among PFO patients ranges between 1.5% and 12%, depending on the population studied. The optimal treatment for preventing strokes in PFO patients has not been identified. The i...

Percutaneous transcatheter atrial septal defect (ASD) closure is a widely used technique that has replaced open-heart surgical closure in many centers. The most common implant is the Amplatzer septal occluder which seems to be a highly effective and safe device. However, there are reports of complications associated with its implantation. We report a 9-year-old boy who presented with complete a...

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.

To the Editor: The articles by Meier et al.1 and Carroll et al.2 and the corresponding editorial by Messé and Kent3 (March 21 issue) illustrate a major problem in clinical trials. When it is not obvious which of two therapies is better, sufficient numbers of events are essential to reach a conclusion. Performing a prospective, randomized trial is not enough. In the PC Trial (Clinical Trial Comp...

BACKGROUND Percutaneous closure of large persistent ductus arteriosus using the Amplatzer duct occluder is an alternative to surgery. However, this device is not recommended in infants weighing less than 6 kg. AIM To evaluate the safety and effectiveness of this procedure in low-body-weight infants. METHODS We reviewed retrospectively data for infants weighing less or equal to 6 kg who unde...