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Updated: Jan 21, 2026

Closure of a Patent Foramen Ovale PFO: An Intervention Sequence
Published on: December 23, 2022
Superior vena cava-right atrium junction flow-pattern post-transcatheter closure of patent foramen ovale
Sergey Yalonetsky1, Roi Tal1, Doron Aharonson1
1Cardiology Division, Rambam Healthcare Campus, Technion Faculty of Medicine, Haifa, Israel.
Background:
The patent foramen ovale (PFO) occluder is a bulky metallic device. Its impact on the normal blood flow at the superior vena cava-right atrial (SVC-RA) junction is not clear.
Methods:
We examined SVC-RA junction flow-pattern using pulsed-wave (PW) ultrasound Doppler in 21 patients (4 male, aged 52.7 ± 9 years) who underwent PFO device closure 4-120 months previously, in comparison with 21 age- and sex-matched controls (4 male, aged 51 ± 8.5 years) with structurally normal hearts.
Results:
Mean systolic flow velocity at the SVC-RA junction was 60 ± 11 cm/s in the PFO closure group and 64 ± 17 cm/s in the control group (P = 0.27). Mean diastolic blood flow velocity at the SVC-RA junction in those groups was 30 ± 8 and 35 ± 9 cm/s, respectively (P = 0.1).The mean systolic wave duration was 439 ± 52 ms in the PFO closure group and 422 ± 67 ms in the control group (P = 0.4). The mean diastolic wave duration was 320 ± 75 and 277 ± 88 ms, respectively (P = 0.12).
Conclusion:
The study results show that transcatheter PFO closure does not affect the normal blood flow at the SVC-RA junction.
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