Patent foramen ovale in patients with atrial fibrillation

In this issue of the journal, Daher et al. [1] report that among 178 patients undergoing pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) procedures, a patent foramen ovale (PFO) was present in 57.3% of patients. This was determined because when a PFO was present, the catheter was advanced into the left atrium via the PFO, instead of performing a trans-septal perforation. A trans-esophageal echocardiogram (TEE) had detected a PFO in only 18.7% of the 75 patients who had a TEE prior to the PVI procedure. “The sensitivity and specificity of TEE in detection of PFO were 36.8% and 100%, respectively.” Although TEE is usually regarded as the “gold standard” for diagnosing PFO, this study confirms that should not be so regarded.
Source: International Journal of Cardiology - Category: Cardiology Authors: Tags: Editorial Source Type: research