What kind of medications might be prescribed to a patient with PFO?
If you have a PFO and have had a stroke or TIA, you may need to take medication to thin your blood to prevent blood clots and stroke. These can include aspirin, Plavix (clopidogrel), or Coumadin (warfarin). Your doctor will talk to you about the best medication for you.
Do you need blood thinners after PFO closure?
Will you still need blood thinners after closing PFO? (11:26) I recommend baby aspirin indefinitely after either of these devices are implanted just to prevent other types of causes of stroke. But you certainly do not need blood thinners like warfarin or these other things you may see ads for.
Does PFO need anticoagulation?
Oral anticoagulation may be considered for patients with a large patent foramen ovale (PFO) under 3 circumstances: Recurrent cerebral ischemia while the patient was receiving aspirin, 300 mg/d. Co-occurrence of PFO with atrial septal aneurysm. Co-occurrence of PFO with deep venous thrombosis of the leg or abdomen.
What is the best blood thinner to prevent stroke?
Coumadin (warfarin): a blood thinner that interferes with the action of vitamin K, a vitamin necessary for proper blood clotting. 5 Coumadin helps prevent recurrent stroke and is often recommended for patients with heart problems that may lead to stroke, such as heart valve replacement.
What should you not do after a PFO closure?
For 6 months you will be required to take an antibiotic prior to dental cleaning or any procedures to prevent infecting the new device. No heavy lifting, pushing, or pulling greater than 10 pounds for 5 days. After 5 days, no heavy activity that causes deep/heavy breathing for 6-8 weeks. No driving for 5 days.
What are the risks of closing a PFO?
Complications from a PFO closure and side effects may include atrial fibrillation, an ischemic stroke as a result of the procedure, bleeding from the site where the device is guided into the body, blood clots in the leg or lung, injury to the heart, or embolization of the device (note that while these complications may …
How do you close a PFO?
A Patent Foramen Ovale (PFO) Repair, or closure, is a procedure that’s done to close the flap in the wall of the atrial septum, also called a patent foramen ovale. During this procedure, a catheter with a closure device is inserted through the leg vein up to the heart, where the device is left to close up the flap.
Can you still have a stroke on warfarin?
Stroke can occur in patients on warfarin despite anticoagulation. Patients with a low international normalized ratio (INR) should theoretically be at greater risk for ischemia than those who are therapeutic.
Are there alternatives to warfarin for cryptogenic stroke?
There are several treatment alternatives for cryptogenic stroke (Table I). Warfarin has been used for years, but it is uncertain that this reduces the risk of events, which is still 2% to 8% per year. Antiplatelet therapy appears to be of equivalent value to warfarin.
What should you do if you have PFO and stroke?
In the 2006 AHA/ASA guidelines for the prevention of stroke in patients with ischemic stroke or TIA, antiplatelet treatment was recommended in most stroke patients with a PFO[45]. Warfarin was considered a reasonable alternative for high-risk patients with a coexisting venous thrombosis or hypercoagulable state[45].
Can you take aspirin with PFO closure alone?
Patients assigned to antiplatelet therapy alone or to PFO closure plus antiplatelet therapy could receive aspirin, clopidogrel, or aspirin combined with extended-release dipyridamole (except for the 3 months after PFO closure during which time dual-antiplatelet therapy was used).
Which is better PFO closure or antiplatelet therapy?
Among patients who had had a recent cryptogenic stroke attributed to PFO with an associated atrial septal aneurysm or large interatrial shunt, the rate of stroke recurrence was lower among those assigned to PFO closure combined with antiplatelet therapy than among those assigned to antiplatelet therapy alone.