Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Case Reports
. 2012 Aug;12(4):391-2.
doi: 10.7861/clinmedicine.12-4-391.

Simultaneous myocardial infarction and ischaemic stroke secondary to paradoxical emboli through a patent foramen ovale

Joanna Grogono  1 , Samantha J Fitzsimmons, Benoy N Shah, Dhrubo J Rakhit, Huon H Gray
Affiliations
Case Reports

Simultaneous myocardial infarction and ischaemic stroke secondary to paradoxical emboli through a patent foramen ovale

Joanna Grogono et al. Clin Med (Lond). 2012 Aug.

Abstract

Myocardial infarction (MI) and stroke are common acute conditions that regularly present as an emergency to hospital. Paradoxical embolism is a recognised complication of patent foramen ovale (PFO), and the literature shows that it can cause ischaemic stroke or, less frequently, acute MI. Ischaemic stroke and MI occurring simultaneously has a wide differential diagnosis, which should include a PFO, especially when occurring in young patients.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig 1.
Fig 1.
Right anterior oblique projection from the coronary angiogram demonstrating abrupt occlusion of the left anterior descending (LAD) coronary artery (white arrow) as well as a large filling defect (thrombus) in the distal portion of the diagonal branch of the LAD (black arrows).
Fig 2.
Fig 2.
An apical view from the transthoracic echocardiogram following intravenous injection of agitated saline showing clear (abnormal) presence of bubbles within the left heart. LA = left atrium; LV = left ventricle; RA = right atrium; RV = right ventricle.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment in

References

    1. Di Tullio M, Sacco RL, Gopal A, et al. Patent foramen ovale as a risk factor for cryptogenic stroke. Ann Int Med 1992;117:461–5. - PubMed
    1. Cerrato P, Grasso M, Imperiale D, et al. Stroke in young patients: etiopathogenesis and risk factors in different age classes. Cerebrovasc Dis 2004;18:154–9. 10.1159/000079735 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Gersony DR, Kim SH, Di Tullio M, et al. Acute myocardial infarction caused by paradoxical coronary embolization in a patient with a patent foramen ovale. J Am Soc Echocardiogr 2001;14:1227–9. 10.1067/mje.2001.114138 - DOI - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms