title: Patent foramen ovale closure: past, present and future.
abstract: Patent foramen ovale (PFO) is a common congenital abnormality that has been implicated in a number of disease processes, including cryptogenic stroke and migraine headaches. Medical treatment for these processes is often considered inadequate and mechanical closure of the PFO is an attractive, albeit controversial, alternative. PFO closure has become common practice in many centers, although recent guidelines limit its indication to certain subsets of patients. This review first focuses on the anatomy, physiology and pathophysiology of PFO, and then reviews the currently available and experimental devices for PFO closure, as well as the present clinical data pertaining to them. Finally, we present our perspective of the PFO closure, with regard to its current use and future directions.
authors.affiliation: Washington Hospital Center, 110 Irving Street, Division of Cardiology, Washington, DC 20010, USA. daniel.h.steinberg@medstar.net
authors.forename: Daniel H
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Steinberg
authors.forename: Augusto D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Pichard
authors.forename: Lowell F
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Satler
authors.forename: Michael C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Slack
authors.forename: Nina
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Wunderlich
authors.forename: Nico
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Majunke
authors.forename: Horst
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sievert
mesh_terms: D021721:Balloon Occlusion / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000639:trends; D004867:Equipment Design; D004869:Equipment Safety; D054092:Foramen Ovale, Patent / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D015995:Prevalence