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Definition
By Mayo Clinic staffA patent foramen ovale (PFO) is a hole in the heart that didn't close the way it should after birth. The condition is relatively common.
During fetal development, a small flap-like opening — the foramen ovale (foh-RAY-mun oh-VAY-lee) — is usually present between the right and left upper chambers of the heart. It normally closes within the first or second year of life. When the foramen ovale doesn't close, it's called a patent foramen ovale.
Most people with a patent foramen ovale never know they have it. A patent foramen ovale is often discovered during tests for other problems. Learning that you have a patent foramen ovale is understandably worrisome, but most people never need treatment for this condition.
- Atrial septal defect (ASD). American Heart Association. http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=11065. Accessed April 22, 2010.
- Bashore TM, et al. Heart disease. In: McPhee SJ, et al. Current Medical Diagnosis and Treatment 2010. 49th ed. New York, N.Y.: McGraw-Hill; 2010. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aID=3671. Accessed April 22, 2010.
- Slottow TL, et al. Overview of the 2007 Food and Drug Administration Circulatory System Devices Panel meeting on patent foramen ovale closure devices. Circulation 2007;116:677.
- O'Gara PT, et al. Percutaneous device closure of patent foramen ovale for secondary stroke prevention: A call for completion of randomized clinical trials — A science advisory from the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association and the American College of Cardiology Foundation. Circulation. 2009;119:2743.
- Johansson MC, et al. The significance of patent foramen ovale: A current review of associated conditions and treatment. International Journal of Cardiology. 2009;134:17.
- Specific cardiac defects. In: Libby P, et al. Braunwald's Heart Disease: A Textbook of Cardiovascular Medicine. 8th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2007. http://www.mdconsult.com/book/player/book.do?method=display&type=bookPage&decorator=header&eid=4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-4106-1..50064-9--cesec197&displayedEid=4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-4106-1..50064-9--cesec222&uniq=197042004&isbn=978-1-4160-4106-1&sid=987452515. Accessed April 22, 2010.
- Sommer RJ. Patent foramen ovale: Where are we in 2009? American Journal of Therapeutics. 2009;16:562.
- Rothrock JF. Patent foramen ovale (PFO) and migraine. Headache. 2008;48:1153.
- Meier B. Catheter-based closure of the patent foramen ovale. Circulation. 2009;120:1837.
- Grogan M (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. May 3, 2010
- Rosenow E (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. May 3, 2010.
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