Patent foramen ovale with atrial septal aneurysm may contribute to white matter lesions in stroke patients.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of the present study was to assess the contribution of embolic etiologies, patent foramen ovale (PFO) and atrial septal aneurysm (ASA), to cerebral white matter lesions (WMLs) in ischemic stroke patients.

METHODS: Patients with acute ischemic stroke who underwent transesophageal echocardiography were prospectively studied to investigate the relationships between the prevalence of PFO and ASA and the degree of WMLs. The patients were classified into four groups based on transesophageal echocardiography findings: (1) the PFO group (patients having PFO but not ASA); (2) the ASA group (patients having ASA but not PFO); (3) the PFO-ASA group (patients having both PFO and ASA), and (4) the non-septal abnormalities group (non-SA group, patients with neither PFO nor ASA). Based on MRI findings, the patients were also subdivided into grades 0, 1, 2, and 3 according to the Fazekas classification.

RESULTS: 115 patients (age, 69 +/- 11 years; 41 females) were enrolled; 49 (43%) were in the PFO group, 4 (3%) were in the ASA group, 23 (20%) were in the PFO-ASA group, and 39 (34%) were in the non-SA group. The PFO-ASA group had significantly increased WMLs compared to the other three groups (p = 0.004). On multiple logistic regression analysis, the coexistence of PFO and ASA was significantly associated with the degree of WMLs (odds ratio: 2.40; 95% confidence interval: 1.11-5.17; p = 0.026) when the PFO-ASA and non-SA groups were compared.

CONCLUSIONS: The coexistence of PFO with ASA could play an important pathogenic role in WML severity.