Details.
Percutaneous transcatheter closure of a patent foramen ovale to reduce the risk of recurrent ischemic stroke in predominantly 18 to 60-year-old patients with a cryptogenic stroke due to presumed paradoxical embolism, following evaluation by a neurologist and cardiologist to exclude known causes of ischemic stroke. The procedure uses light or conscious sedation, local anesthesia, fluoroscopy, and intracardiac echocardiography to guide placement of the AMPLATZER PFO Occluder. It takes approximately 20 minutes, and patients are usually discharged the same day or the next day on a single antiplatelet agent.