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 who have had 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 occluder. Patients are usually discharged the same or next day on a single antiplatelet agent.