title: [Prevalence of patent foramen ovale in young patients with ischemic cerebral complications].
abstract: We compared the prevalence of patent foramen ovale (PFO), detected by two-dimensional contrast echocardiography, in a group of 60 adults aged under 55 who had experienced a cerebral ischaemic accident and had normal standard examination of the heart, and in a control group of 100 patients. The prevalence of PFO was significantly higher in neurological patients (40 p. 100) than in controls (10 p. 100; p less than 0.001). Within the neurological group, the prevalence of PFO determined blindly, i.e. without any knowledge of the aetiological diagnosis, increased with the uncertainty of diagnosis: 21 p. 100 when a cause could be determined (n = 19), 40 p. 100 when a facilitating factor of cerebral accident, such as mitral valve prolapse, migraine or consumption of oral contraceptives, could be identified (n = 15), and 54 p. 100 when neither cause nor facilitating factor could be found (n = 26; p less than 0.10). In view of the very high prevalence of clinically silent venous thrombosis, these results suggest that paradoxical embolism through a PFO might be responsible for cerebral ischaemic accidents more frequently than is generally believed.
authors.affiliation: Service de cardiologie, hôpital de la Salpêtrière, Paris, France.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lechat
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lascault
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Mas
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Loron
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Klimczac
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Guggiari
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Drobinski
authors.forename: J B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Fraysse
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Thomas
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Grosgogeat
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002545:Brain Ischemia / Q000209:etiology*; D004452:Echocardiography; D005260:Female; D006344:Heart Septal Defects, Atrial / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008945:Mitral Valve Prolapse / Q000150:complications; D012307:Risk Factors
vernacular_title: Prévalence du foramen ovale perméable chez les patients jeunes atteints d'accident ischémique cérébral.