FOCAL CEREBRAL-ISCHEMIA AND PATENT CARDIAC FORAMEN OVALE

By means of transthoracic contrast echocardiography, the prevalence of a patent foramen ovale (PFO) was studied, in ay continuous series of 48 patients aged less than 50 years with ay recent episode of acute ce rebral ischemia. AY PFO was found in 11 subjects (23%). In the subgrou p of younger patients (aged less than 30 years), the prevalence was mu ch higher than in those aged 30 or more (58% against 11%, p = 0.0022). In the 19 patients with clear evidence of extracardiac causal factors of cerebral ischemia, there was no PFO; of the remaining 29 subjects, ay PFO was present in 11 (38%) (p = 0.0015). In conclusion, the possi bile presence of ay PFO must be carefully investigated in subjects wit h cerebral ischemia aged less than 30, as well as in subjects aged bet ween 30 and 50 in whom there is no acceptable explanation for their ce rebral ischemic episode.