| Objective To investigate the clinical and imaging characteristics of patent foramen ovale (PFO) and cryptogenic stroke (CS). Methods The data of 92 patients with PFO diagnosed by esophageal echocardiography (TEE) from June 2020 to October 2023 in the Affiliated Provincial Hospital of Anhui Medical University were retrospectively collected. According to the results of CS diagnosis, the patients were divided into the PFO combined CS group (43 cases) and PFO group (49 cases). The general clinical data and imaging characteristics of the two groups were compared, and the risk factors of PFO patients with CS were analyzed by multivariate logistic regression. PFO patients with CS were divided into the large size PFO (15 cases), small size PFO (28 cases), long tunnel PFO (33 cases) and non-long tunnel PFO (10 cases) according to TEE results. The lesion distribution, blood vessels involved, severity of disease and prognosis of CS among each group were compared. Results In the PFO group combined with CS, the number of male, young age, history of hypertension, history of hyperhomocysteinemia and large size PFO patients was higher than that in the simple PFO group, and the differences were statistically significant (P＜0.05). Logistic regression analysis showed that large size PFO and hyperhomocysteinemia were risk factors for PFO combined with CS (OR=3.251, 6.806). There were no significant differences in lesion distribution (P=0.555), blood vessels involved (P=1.000), severity of disease (Z=-1.362, P=0.174) and prognosis (Z=-0.513, P=0.611) of CS between large PFO and small PFO. There was no significant difference in lesion distribution (P= 0.355), blood vessels involved (P=0.326), severity of disease (Z=-0.298, P=0.766) and prognosis level (Z=-0.774, P=0.457) of CS between long tunnel PFO and non-long tunnel PFO. Conclusion Large size PFO and hyperhomocysteinemia may be high risk factors for PFO complicated with CS. |
