Drug therapy of patent foramen ovale with cryptogenic stroke

Patent foramen ovale(PFO) is a congenital cardiac lesion present in >25% of the adult population.Diagnosis,evaluation and treatment of PFO have attracted increasing interest as it has been suggested that PFO may be associated with various pathological conditions such as cryptogenic stroke,platypnea-orthodeoxia syndrome,decompression sickness and migraine.Management of PFO remains controversial and,although not yet approved by the U.S.Food and Drug Administration,transcatheter approach to PFO closure continues to develop.However,its potential complications include device embolization,thrombus formation,atrial arrhythmias,residual shunting and device erosion or perforation.As with any cardiac intervention,transcatheter closure may cause serious complications and drug therapy thus seems to be a safe and effective option.This paper reviews the drug therapy of PFO with cryptogenic stroke to provide a theoretical basis of its drug treatment for clinicians.