How to treat patent foramen ovale?
Patient: My 11 week old daughter has been diagnosed with PAC. She was on a holter monitor while in the hospital, just after birth, and again approximately 6 weeks later. The findings were that there had been no decrease in the PAC s. Also, at the 6 week follow-up, during her echocardiogram, PFO was found. She is scheduled to receive another holter tomorrow, and to see an electrophysiologist in 2 weeks. I would like to know, what type of questions should I be asking? Doctor: Hi,  The foramen ovale typically closes in 75% of people at birth but residual "probe patency" is a common normal variant. In about 25% of people, a patent foramen ovale (PFO) persists into adulthood. PFOs may be associated with atrial septal aneurysms (a redundancy of the interatrial septum), eustachian valves (a remnant of the sinus venosus valve), and Chiari networks (filamentous strands in the right atrium). Defects more than 4 mm in infancy have been noted to become larger in natural history studies. A “bubble study” is done on the echocardiogram to detect the presence of a patent foramen ovale.  Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further.  Regards, Dr. Tushar Kanti Biswas, Internal Medicine Specialist