Closing a Hole in Your Heart

If no other reason for a stroke can be found, sealing off a patent foramen ovale (PFO) is recommended to prevent a second stroke.

By
estaff
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Published:
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PFOs are commonly closed with an occluding device. The procedure is performed in a cardiac catheterization laboratory. The occluder is threaded through the veins into the left atrium, expanded and pulled through the PFO, sandwiching the membrane and closing the hole. Within a week, the body starts covering the device with a layer of endothelial cells. Within six months, the PFO is fully covered with these cells, and the device has become part of the heart.

Before we are born, a hole between the upper chambers of our heart called a foramen ovale allows oxygenated blood to circulate until we have working lungs. Usually, this hole seals over naturally in the first few weeks of life.

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