title: Patent foramen ovale in young stroke patients with mitral valve prolapse.
abstract: Because mitral valve prolapse and patent foramen ovale are supposed to promote stroke in young patients, we assessed the frequency of patent foramen ovale in 18 patients younger than 45 years with stroke and mitral valve prolapse diagnosed on echocardiography at the time of stroke, who were admitted to 2 university hospitals. Eleven patients were called back to hospital for contrast transthoracic and/or transesophageal echocardiography, 3 to 7 years after their initial stroke. A patient foramen ovale was found in 9 patients (50%). In 4 re-assessed patients no mitral valve prolapse was found using our present criteria. Six patients with mitral valve prolapse had a patent foramen ovale (43%). Our results suggest that mitral valve prolapse is commonly associated with patent foramen ovale in young stroke patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, CHUV, Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Besson
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bogousslavsky
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hommel
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Stauffer
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Siché
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002544:Cerebral Infarction / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology; D002561:Cerebrovascular Disorders / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology*; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006344:Heart Septal Defects, Atrial / Q000150:complications* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008945:Mitral Valve Prolapse / Q000150:complications* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D014463:Ultrasonography