Media Coverage : Articles

New Technique to Fixing Heart Defect Linked to Stroke and Migraine

August 14, 2007

A patent foramen ovale (PFO), open when theF fetus is in the womb is used to allow better blood circulation before the lungs are used. However, when the lungs start working, 1 in 4 people have PFOs that do not close. In cases where the PFO does not close, blood can bypass the lungs carrying debris with it that may lodge in the brain. Traditionally grafts have been performed as permanent patches but have been known to cause inflammation and further problems.

With the new BioSTAR^® device (already used on 70 patients), the patch does the repair and disapears in a process that has been described as being similar to how the body would heal itself normally. (Treatment diagram in source.)

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