Patent foramen ovale

Injury	Disease	Nutrition	Poison

Symptoms	Surgery	Test	Special Topic

Heart, section through the middle

Overview

Symptoms

Treatment

Prevention

Patent foramen ovale

Alternative Names:

PFO

Treatment:

This condition is not treated unless other heart abnormalities exist.

Expectations (prognosis):

The infant will have normal health in the absence of other heart defects.

Complications:

Unless there are other associated defects, there are usually no complications associated with PFO. There have been some studies suggesting that older patients with PFOs have a higher rate of a certain type of stroke (thromboembolic). The reason for this is that older people frequently develop blood clots in the veins in their legs. These clots can sometimes travel from their original site to the right side of their heart.

If PFO is present, the clot can then pass from the right side to the left side from whence it can travel to the brain and become lodged there, preventing blood flow to that part of the brain (stroke).

Calling your health care provider:

Call your health care provider if your baby turns blue when crying or defecating. Usually, however, this disorder is only discovered incidentally when a cardiologist performs an echocardiogram (ultrasound of the heart) to evaluate an unrelated heart murmur.

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.

The information provided herein should not be used during any medical emergency or for the diagnosis or treatment of any medical condition. A licensed physician should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions. Call 911 for all medical emergencies. Links to other sites are provided for information only -- they do not constitute endorsements of those other sites. Copyright 2004 A.D.A.M., Inc. Any duplication or distribution of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited.