Device used to close small hole in heart may protect against recurrent stroke
A device used to close a small hole in the heart may benefit certain stroke patients by providing an extra layer of protection for those facing years of ongoing stroke risk, according to the results of a large clinical trial led by UCLA researchers.“It is a major new treatment option for some people,” said Dr. Jeffrey Saver, director of theUCLA Comprehensive Stroke Center and lead author of the study. However, he added, “Using the device is going to have to be a considered clinical decision between the doctor and the patient about who’s the right person to get it.”Thefindings appear in the Sept. 14 New England Journal of Medicine.Over eight years, the RESPECT study (Recurrent Stroke Comparing PFO Closure to Established Current Standard of Care Treatment) enrolled 980 people, ages 18 to 60, at 69study locations in the United States and Canada. All of the participants had experienced a stroke, possibly caused by a condition known as patent foramen ovale, known as a PFO, which is a hole in the heart that did not close the way it should after birth. Nearly half of the people in the study had suffered a major stroke.About 25 to 30 percent of people in the United States have a PFO, which typically causes no health problems and does not require treatment. However, this type of hole in the heart is the possible cause in about 10 percent of the 795,000 strokes that occur in the United States each year. Most strokes are caused by high blood pressure, narrowed arteries or a bl...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news
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