Hypoxia: an unusual cause with specific treatment

Hypoxia is a well-recognized consequence of venous admixture resulting from right to left intracardiac shunting. Right to left shunting is usually associated with high pulmonary artery pressure or alteration in the direction of blood flow due to an anatomical abnormality of the thorax. Surgical or percutaneous closure remains controversial; however it is performed frequently for patients presenting with clinical sequela presumed to be resulting from paradoxical embolization secondary to right to left shunting. We report two patients with hypoxia and dyspnea due to right to left shunting through a patent foramen ovale (PFO) and venous admixture in the absence of elevated pulmonary artery pressures or other predisposing conditions like pneumonectomy or diaphragmatic weakness. Percutaneous closures of the PFOs with the self-centering Amplatzer device resulted in resolution of hypoxia and symptoms related to it.