People who do not respond to medication may need a minimally invasive, catheter-based procedure. Your interventional cardiologist closes the PFO with a small closure device. This is done in a cardiac catheterization (cath) laboratory.
You will receive local anesthesia or a light sedative. You will be awake but should not feel any discomfort during the procedure. During PFO closure, your doctor will implant a closure device that plugs your PFO using a catheter that is threaded through a vein in your groin and guided to your heart.
Treatment most often requires a procedure called cardiac catheterization, which is performed by a trained cardiologist to permanently seal the PFO.
If you were born with a hole in your heart that never closed, known as a patent foramen ovale (PFO), you may need a procedure to correct it. Penn Medicine cardiologists use interventional techniques to close a patent foramen ovale without opening your chest for surgery.
Your healthcare provider may also repair the PFO by transcatheter repair or heart surgery. A transcatheter repair is less invasive than a surgical repair.
If a PFO exists, a little blood can flow between the atria. A robotic-assisted patent foramen ovale repair is a type of minimally invasive surgery. Minimally invasive means that the surgery uses smaller cuts (incisions) than a traditional open heart surgery. Recovery may be easier and faster.
A healthcare provider may recommend a PFO closure procedure if: You've had a transient ischemic attack (TIA) more than once. You've had cryptogenic (from an unknown cause) strokes more than once. You have a low level of oxygen in your blood.
Definition. Patent foramen ovale (PFO) is a hole between the left and right atria (upper chambers) of the heart. This hole exists in everyone before birth, but most often closes shortly after being born. PFO is what the hole is called when it fails to close naturally after a baby is born.
When a baby's lungs begin working, blood flow through the heart changes. Now the oxygen-rich blood comes from the lungs and enters the left upper heart chamber. The pressure of the blood pumping through the heart usually forces the flap opening of the foramen ovale to close.
Patent foramen ovale (PFO) is when you have a small flap or opening between the upper right and left chambers (atria) of your heart. Everyone has this opening, called a foramen ovale, before birth. In most people, this closes after birth. Patent foramen ovale occurs when the flap still exists after birth.