New SCAI Guidelines: Trying to Close the Holes in the PFO Literature

Abstract

The idea that recurrent ischemic stroke could be prevented by closing a patent foramen ovale (PFO) was a source of intense controversy between the cardiology and stroke neurology communities since publication of the first PFO closure series in 1992.1 But after 25 ​years, the publication of 4 large randomized PFO-stroke trials in 2017-20182-5 conclusively demonstrated significant stroke risk reduction in patients treated with PFO closure and antithrombotic therapy compared with those treated with antithrombotic therapy alone.