Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Hole in the heart - patching or not patching?

My own stroke was blamed on a hole in my heart - a patent foramen ovale, or an opening between the two upper chambers of the heart. The opening was closed in 2007. To read more about that, you can follow this link.

Researchers have been back and forth on whether closing the hole is a good idea or not. The most recent discussion made more sense - to this layman - and how for some, the closure makes sense. For others, not as much.

For example, relatively young people with a combination of the hole and an atrial septal aneurysm - that's when the wall between the two upper chambers of the heart is bulging - might benefit more. That was my case.

So follow this link to read more about the results of PFO closure in the long term:
While patent foramen ovale (PFO) closure still doesn't pan out for overall outcomes in long-term follow-up, the procedure does what it is supposed to in terms of reducing recurrent cryptogenic strokes, particularly for younger adults, the RESPECT trial showed.

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