Stroke patients with patent foramen ovale

Patent foramen ovale (PFO) is associated with stroke, but the efficacy of antithrombotic therapy for stroke patients with this defect has not been fully evaluated. The PFO in Cryptogenic Stroke Study examined transesophageal echocardiographic findings of stroke patients randomly assigned to receive warfarin or aspirin. The data suggest that medical therapy with warfarin or aspirin is similarly protective against recurrent stroke and death among stroke patients with PFO, regardless of its size or the presence of an atrial-septal aneurysm.