ABSTRACT
Incomplete development or failure of fusion of the two components of the atrial septum (the septum primum and septum secundum) leads to a direct communicationan atrial septal defect (ASD), or a patent foramen ovale (PFO)—a ap-like communication. is group of anatomical lesions is common (~one-third of the adult population) and generally benign. is is not always the case and, therefore, a clinical need exists to deliver safe and eective closure in cases of large defects associated with hemodynamically signicant intracardiac shunts or following events of suspected paradoxical embolism. In the case of paradoxical embolism, patients with this pathology are oen young, and come for treatment to mitigate lifetime risks that are low in absolute terms (~1-2%/year), but high in relative terms (80 times higher than age-matched controls). Device treatment in this group has a chance of being ecacious if the potential harm of intervention is signi- cantly less than the attributable risk of the lesion itself.
