Patent foramen ovale, migraine and stroke: no reason to intervene

摘要

Cardiac embolism is the most frequent cause of ischemic stroke in hospital-based and population-based registers. Patent foramen ovale (PFO) with and without atrial septal aneurysm (ASA) has been recognized as a potential risk factor for ischemic stroke. Besides paradoxical embolism from small thrombi that arise in the venous system and cardiac thrombus formation secondary to PFO-related or ASA-related cardiac arrhythmia, another likely ischemic stroke cause is thrombus formation in the PFO.