“I had a stroke- that will lighten the mood”
Marcus Birdman had a stroke related to a PFO – a small flap in the heart that can allow clot to pass to the brain. Stroke for no other reason can be treated with closure of the PFO.
Dr Malik is an expert in PFO closure. The key is assessment and picking the right treatment for the right patient. The procedure itself is easy, but no heart procedure is without some risk. It is worth the risk if you are fairly young, have no other obvious cause for the stroke and want the risk reduction shown in the clinical trials:
The risk of stroke occurring again is reduced from 1% per year to 0.5% per year.