Article Text
Correspondence
Patent foramen ovale, cerebrovascular risk, and complement
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Nedeltchev et al1 report that the presence of a patent foramen ovale (PFO) is a significant risk factor for recurrent cerebrovascular events, the risk being higher in patients with more than one previous embolic event. They highlight the absence of a current proven medical treatment or prevention regimen. Cardiac right to left shunting is present in a quarter of the population. It is thus worth drawing attention to a particular subgroup of patients with PFO that may be at an even more increased risk than the authors report—sport divers, most of whom fall within the age range of the above study.
Neurological sequelae constitute 80% of decompression sickness. Not only has neuroimaging shown an …