Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials on Patent Foramen Ovale Closure Versus Medical Therapy for Secondary Prevention of Cryptogenic Stroke

The optimal management of patients with cryptogenic stroke (CS) and patent foramen ovale (PFO) remains controversial. We conducted a meta-analysis to assess the effect of PFO closure for secondary prevention of stroke in patients with CS. We searched the literature for randomized clinical trials (RCTs) assessing the recurrence of stroke after PFO closure when compared to medical therapy (antiplatelet and/or anticoagulation). Five RCTs with a total of 3440 patients were included. The mean age was 45.2 ±9.7 years and follow-up duration ranged from 2 to 5.9 years.

Source: The American Journal of Cardiology - March 2, 2018 Category: Cardiology Authors: Aiman Smer, Mohsin Salih, Toufik Mahfood Haddad, Raviteja Guddeti, Abdulghani Saadi, Alok Saurav, Ram Belbase, Mohamed Ayan, Mahmoud Traina, Venkata Alla, Michael Del Core Source Type: research