Does PFO closure combined with antiplatelet therapy reduce stroke recurrence compared to antiplatelet therapy alone in patients with recent cryptogenic stroke attributed to PFO with an associated atrial septal aneurysm or large interatrial shunt?
In patients with recent cryptogenic stroke and high-risk PFO features, PFO closure combined with antiplatelet therapy reduces the risk of stroke recurrence compared to antiplatelet therapy alone, albeit with an increased risk of atrial fibrillation.
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. PFO closure was associated with an increased risk of atrial fibrillation. (Funded by the French Ministry of Health; CLOSE ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00562289 .).
Mas et al. (2017) studied this question.