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Objective. The Amplatzer patent foramen ovale (PFO) occluder is the most commonly used device for percutaneous closure of a large PFO. However, its use may predispose the patient to postoperative residual shunting. To reduce the incidence of residual shunting, we investigated the safety and effectiveness of the Amplatzer atrial septal defect (ASD) occluder for percutaneous closure of a large PFO measured by transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) and evaluated the value of TEE in this procedure. Methods. Overall, 118 patients who were diagnosed with a large PFO (all with a ≥ 2 mm left atrial side height after the Valsalva maneuver (VM) excluding those with a small ASD) using contrast transthoracic echocardiography (c-TTE) and TEE underwent closure under TEE guidance at The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University. An ASD device was used in 48 patients (group I) and a PFO device in 70 (group II). After the procedure, we verified the safety and efficacy of different devices using c-TTE, TTE, and TEE. Results. In both groups, the preoperative TEE results showed a significantly increased left height of the PFO after VM compared with that at rest (all P < 0.01). Compared with the left height of the PFO measured using TEE after VM, the PFO-stretch diameter (SD) measured by TEE after the delivery sheath passed the PFO was higher (all P < 0.01). We selected the ASD occluder size according to this PFO-SD. In group II, most patients underwent the implantation of the larger PFO devices. Interventional treatment was successfully performed on all patients. The effective occlusion rate in group I at 12 months after the procedure was significantly higher than that in group II (93.7% vs. 78.6%, P < 0.05). The TEE results showed that 18 patients with a medium and large residual shunt at 12 months after the procedure exhibited an intradisc tunnel-like shunt. Conclusion. The Amplatzer ASD device and Amplatzer PFO device are safe for large PFO closure, but the Amplatzer ASD device has a higher effective occlusion rate. TEE plays a crucial role in the use of the Amplatzer ASD occluder for percutaneous closure of a large PFO. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Percutaneous closure of patent foramen ovale (PFO) is widely performed to prevent recurrent stroke or transient ischemic attack in patients with cryptogenic stroke. However, the influence of different degrees of right-to-left shunting (RLS) has rarely been reported. We retrospectively evaluated the cases of 268 patients with cryptogenic stroke who underwent PFO closure at our hospital from April 2012 through April 2015. In accordance with RLS severity, we divided the patients into 2 groups: persistent RLS during normal breathing and the Valsalva maneuver (n=112) and RLS only during the Valsalva maneuver (n=156). Baseline characteristics, morphologic features, and procedural and follow-up data were reviewed. The primary endpoint was stroke or transient ischemic attack. More patients in the persistent group had multiple or bilateral ischemic lesions, as well as a larger median PFO diameter (2.5 mm [range, 1.8–3.9 mm]) than did patients in the Valsalva maneuver group (1.3 mm [range, 0.9–1.9 mm]) (P <0.001). Atrial septal aneurysm was more frequent in the persistent group: 25 patients (22.3%) compared with 18 (11.5%) (P=0.018). Three patients in the persistent group had residual shunting. The annual risk of recurrent ischemic stroke was similar between groups: 0.298% (persistent) and 0.214% (Valsalva maneuver). Our findings suggest that patients with persistent RLS have more numerous severe ischemic lesions, larger PFOs, and a higher incidence of atrial septal aneurysm than do those without. Although our persistent group had a greater risk of residual shunting after PFO closure, recurrence of ischemic events did not differ significantly from that in the Valsalva maneuver group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]