Patent Foramen Ovale: Risk Factors and Diagnostic Comparison of Transcranial Doppler versus Echocardiography for Secondary Stroke Prevention

Abstract

Various factors correlated to PFO that tend to increase its causal relationship with cryptogenic ischemic stroke include: young age, valsalva maneuver (VM), recent prolonged immobility, concomitant DVT in legs or pelvis, presence of atrial septal aneurysm (ASA), history of migraine with aura, and neuroimaging demonstrating solitary cortical or bilateral embolic pattern. 3 Few of these factors have been discussed in the following section.

The Role of Transcranial Doppler in Detecting Patent Foramen Ovale

“…46 Most studies have found that TCD is at least not inferior to TEE for detecting right-to-left shunting. 51,52 In one study, TCD was marginally superior to TEE (by almost 5%). 53…”