(Stroke. 2001;32:1563.)
© 2001 American Heart Association, Inc.
Original Contributions |
Is Patent Foramen Ovale a Family Trait?
A Transcranial Doppler Sonographic Study
From Service de Neurologie, Hôpital Sainte Anne (C.A., J.-L.M.); Service de Biostatistique et d’Informatique Médicale, Hôpital Cochin (J.C.); and Service de Neurologie, Hôpital Lariboisière (P.-J.T.), Paris, France.
Correspondence to Pr. Jean-Louis Mas, Service de Neurologie, Hôpital Sainte Anne, 1 rue Cabanis, 75674 Paris Cedex 14, France. E-mail mas{at}chsa.broca.inserm.fr
Background and Purpose—Patent foramen ovale (PFO) is a frequent finding in young patients with stroke. The aim of this study was to assess whether PFO is a family trait.
Methods—Sixty-two consecutive patients younger than 60 years of age with ischemic stroke and 62 age and gender-matched control siblings were examined by means of contrast transcranial Doppler (TCD) of the middle cerebral artery, using a standardized protocol. The reliability of TCD examination in our laboratory was assessed against transesophageal echocardiography (TEE). All TCD recordings were reviewed by a blinded experienced observer from another center. Disagreements between readers were resolved by unblinded consensus review.
Results—Siblings of
patients with PFO had a significantly higher prevalence of PFO than had
siblings of patients without PFO (61.5% versus 30.6%; OR 3.64 [1.3
to 10.5]; P=0.015). The 
statistics indicated that agreement of pairs (patients/control
siblings) was not due to chance. The strength of the association was
sex dependent. In women pairs, prevalence of a PFO was 76.5% in
siblings of patients with PFO and 25% in siblings of patients without
PFO, giving an OR of 9.8 (95% CI 2 to 47.9;
P<0.01). In contrast, in men,
no significant difference was observed in the prevalence of PFO between
siblings of patients with or without PFO (respectively 33.3% and
35%), giving an OR of 0.9 (95% CI 0.2 to 4.9;
P=0.9).
Conclusions—This study suggests that, in women, PFO is a family trait.
Key Words: patent foramen ovale • transcranial doppler • ultrasonics
This article has been cited by other articles:
 |
|
 |
|
  M. Reisman and C. J. Fuller Is patent foramen ovale closure indicated for migraine?: Patent Foramen Ovale Closure for Migraine Circ Cardiovasc Interv, October 1, 2009; 2(5): 468 - 474. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 M Del Sette, L Dinia, L Bonzano, L Roccatagliata, C Finocchi, R. Parodi, G Sivori, and C Gandolfo White Matter Lesions in Migraine and Right-to-Left Shunt: A Conventional and Diffusion MRI Study Cephalalgia, April 1, 2008; 28(4): 376 - 382. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
E Gretchen and M. Tietjen Migraine and Ischaemic Heart Disease and Stroke: Potential Mechanisms and Treatment Implications Cephalalgia, August 1, 2007; 27(8): 981 - 987. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 E. P. Kirk, C. Hyun, P. C. Thomson, D. Lai, M. L. Castro, C. Biben, M. F. Buckley, I. C.A. Martin, C. Moran, and R. P. Harvey Quantitative Trait Loci Modifying Cardiac Atrial Septal Morphology and Risk of Patent Foramen Ovale in the Mouse Circ. Res., March 17, 2006; 98(5): 651 - 658. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 K. Mortelmans, M. Post, V. Thijs, L. Herroelen, and W. Budts The influence of percutaneous atrial septal defect closure on the occurrence of migraine Eur. Heart J., August 1, 2005; 26(15): 1533 - 1537. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 P T Wilmshurst, M J Pearson, S Nightingale, K P Walsh, and W L Morrison Inheritance of persistent foramen ovale and atrial septal defects and the relation to familial migraine with aura Heart, November 1, 2004; 90(11): 1315 - 1320. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 C. Finocchi, M. Del Sette, S. Angeli, D. Rizzi, and C. Gandolfo Cluster headache and right-to-left shunt on contrast transcranial Doppler: A case-control study Neurology, October 12, 2004; 63(7): 1309 - 1310. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 J. L. Halperin and V. Fuster Patent Foramen Ovale and Recurrent Stroke: Another Paradoxical Twist Circulation, June 4, 2002; 105(22): 2580 - 2582. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 C. Lamy, C. Giannesini, M. Zuber, C. Arquizan, J.F. Meder, D. Trystram, J. Coste, and J.L. Mas Clinical and Imaging Findings in Cryptogenic Stroke Patients With and Without Patent Foramen Ovale: The PFO-ASA Study Stroke, March 1, 2002; 33(3): 706 - 711. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|