Patent foramen ovale is frequently associated with embolic cerebrovascular accidents. The diagnosis of patent foramen ovale (PFO) is easier since the advent of transesophageal echocardiography but is invasive and does not allow to detect extracardiac RLS. Contrast transcranial Doppler ultrasound enables the detection of the passage of a contrast material injected into a peripheral vein to the c...

We report three consecutive cases of patients who had refractory hypoxemia and paradoxical embolism during the course of pulmonary embolism. Transesophageal echocardiography showed an atrial septal aneurysm and a patent foramen ovale in all patients. The latter was detected by an early and massive passage of contrast from the right to the left atrium. We suggest that the presence of an atrial s...

Brain abscess results from local or metastatic septic spread to the brain. The primary infectious site is often undetected, more commonly so when it is distant. Unlike pediatric congenital heart disease, minor intracardiac right-to-left shunting due to patent foramen ovale has not been appreciated as a cause of brain abscess in adults. Here we present a case of brain abscess associated with a p...

BACKGROUND Many have proposed a relation between presence of a patent foramen ovale, with or without atrial septal aneurysm, and cryptogenic stroke. The effect of foramen ovale closure on the risk for subsequent strokes is unknown. METHODS AND RESULTS Transcatheter closure of a patent foramen ovale was undertaken in 36 patients with known right-to-left atrial shunting and presumed paradoxical...

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES To investigate the relationship between patent foramen ovale and cryptogenic stroke in patients aged > or =55 years. METHODS This prospective study determined the presence of patent foramen ovale and atrial septal aneurysm using transesophageal echocardiography in 262 consecutive patients with a diagnosis of probable cryptogenic stroke. Data from 44 patients aged >...

BACKGROUND Right-to-left shunt through a patent foramen ovale is frequently diagnosed by contrast echocardiography and can be particularly prominent in the presence of elevated pressures in the right side of the heart. Its prognostic significance in patients with pulmonary thromboembolism, however, is unknown. METHODS AND RESULTS The present prospective study included 139 consecutive patients...

Abbreviations: patent foramen ovale, PFO; transcranial Doppler ultrasonography, TCD; Global initiative for chronic Obstructive Lung Disease, GOLD; partial pressure of oxygen, PaO2; oxygen uptake, V’O2; high-intensity transient signals, HITS Funding Support: Not Applicable. Citation: Fenster BE, Carroll JD. Patent foramen ovale in COPD and hypoxia: Innocent bystander or novel therapeutic target?...

1. Alushi, B., Biasco, L., Orzan, F., Omede, P., Sciuto, F., Moretti, C., . . . Gaita, F. (2014). Patent foramen ovale treatment strategy: an Italian large prospective study. J Cardiovasc Med (Hagerstown), 15(10), 761-768. doi: 10.2459/jcm.0000000000000138 2. Baglini, R., Baldari, D., Amaducci, A., & D'Ancona, G. (2013). The new patent foramen ovale occluder FIGULLA in complex septal anatomy: a...

Platypnea orthodeoxia is a rare disorder characterized by dyspnea and arterial desaturation, exacerbated by the upright position and relieved when the subject is recumbent. We report the case of a 79-year old woman admitted to hospital with dyspnea who was thought to have restrictive ventilatory impairment due to osteoporosis and severe kyphosis. Interestingly, the dyspnea was aggravated in the...