Right to Left Shunt and Cryptogenic Stroke in Patients Over 60 Years Old

To determine the possible role of patent foramen ovale (PFO) as indicated by a right to left shunt and cryptogenic stroke in patients aged ≥ 60 years and to compare the prevalence of patent foramen ovale with stroke of known cause.

We prospectively examined the prevalence of PFO using contrast enhanced colour Transcranial Doppler ultrasonography (bubble-cTCD) in 86 consecutive patients aged ≥60 years with transient ischaemic attack (TIA) or stroke and 86 consecutive patients aged <60 years with TIA/stroke as a control group. Patients with cryptogenic stroke were compared to stroke patients with known cause.

A significantly higher prevalence of PFO in patients with cryptogenic compared to patients with stroke of known cause was registered in the patients aged < 60 years (56.6% vs.18.8%) and in patients aged ≥ 60 years (37.14% vs.11.76%), respectively. Multivariate analysis adjusted for age, hypertension and coronary disease showed that the existence of R-to-L shunt (RLS) was independently associated with cryptogenic stroke in both, in the younger group (odds ratio 4.012; 95% CI1.323 to 12.171, p =0.0143.70) and in the older group (odds ratio 3.197; 95% CI 1.140 to 10.877, p=0.037).

Our findings suggest that PFO is strongly associated with cryptogenic stroke in patients aged ≥ 60 years. Bubble - cTCD was feasible and suitable as a first-line method for the detection of PFO in older patients.