Meta-Analysis Comparing Patent Foramen Ovale Closure Versus Medical Therapy to Prevent Recurrent Stroke

It is unknown if closure of a patent foramen ovale (PFO) plus medical therapy (MT; antiplatelet or anticoagulation) is superior to MT alone to prevent recurrent cryptogenic stroke. We performed a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCT) that compared PFO closure plus MT to MT alone in patients with cryptogenic stroke. The efficacy endpoints were recurrent stroke, transient ischemia attack (TIA), and death. The safety endpoints were major bleeding and newly-detected atrial fibrillation (AF).

Source: The American Journal of Cardiology - December 11, 2017 Category: Cardiology Authors: Tomo Ando, Anthony A. Holmes, Mohit Pahuja, Arshad Javed, Alenxandros Briasoulis, Tesfaye Telila, Hisato Takagi, Theodore Schreiber, Luis Afonso, Cindy L. Grines, Sripal Bangalore Source Type: research