Key result
Antepartum transcatheter PFO closure warrants multidisciplinary consideration only in rare high-risk maternal scenarios.
Why the study?
Does antepartum transcatheter patent foramen ovale closure prevent recurrent embolic events in high-risk pregnant patients?
Does antepartum transcatheter patent foramen ovale closure prevent recurrent embolic events in high-risk pregnant patients?
This clinical perspective highlights the need for individualized risk evaluation for antepartum transcatheter PFO closure in pregnant patients facing an unacceptably high risk of recurrent embolic events.
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
May support individualized peripartum PFO closure in select high-risk cases; leaves open need for prospective safety data.
Background: Transcatheter closure of a patent foramen ovale (PFO) during pregnancy is generally not recommended, because of concerns regarding fetal safety, procedural radiation exposure, and a lack of robust evidence. Postpartum intervention therefore is usually preferred. Pregnancy itself is a hypercoagulable state, and a subset of pregnant patients with PFO may face an unacceptably high risk of recurrent embolic events after pregnancy recognition, despite optimized medical therapy. How such exceptional situations should be evaluated remains insufficiently defined.
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Waga et al. (2026) conducted a review in Patent foramen ovale (PFO) during pregnancy. Antepartum transcatheter PFO closure vs. Postponing intervention until after delivery was evaluated. Antepartum transcatheter PFO closure is a highly exceptional option that may be considered only after rigorous maternal risk stratification and multidisciplinary decision-making in rare, high-risk scenarios.
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