Patent foramen ovale

Injury	Disease	Nutrition	Poison

Symptoms	Surgery	Test	Special Topic

Heart, section through the middle

Overview

Symptoms

Treatment

Prevention

Patent foramen ovale

Definition:

Fetuses have a normal opening between the left and right atria (upper chambers) of the heart. If this opening fails to close naturally soon after the baby is born, the condition is called patent foramen ovale (PFO).

Alternative Names:

PFO

Causes, incidence, and risk factors:

PFO is the persistence of a fetal opening between the left and right atria (upper chambers) of the heart. This hole allows blood to bypass the lungs, because they are not used until a baby is born. The foramen ovale normally closes soon after the infant is born.

The foramen ovale may remain open in as many as 1 out of 5 people. The cause is unknown and there are no known risk factors for developing a PFO.

Review Date: 5/18/2004
Reviewed By: Brendan Campbell, M.D., M.P.H., Department of Surgery, University of North Carolina Hospitals, Chapel Hill, NC. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

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