Cardiac Procedure Closes Small Hole In Heart With Great Success Rate
One in every four people is walking
air bubbles, tumors or fat deposits can travel to the heart and pass through this PFO, depriving tissues of necessary oxygen potentially damaging vital organs.” Dr. Frank says that the vast majority of people with a PFO have no symptoms. However, for the few others, symptoms can range from stroke-like symptoms to shortness of breath or hypoxia. He said there also appears to be an association with migraine headaches and a strong association with patients who develop decompression sickness while scuba diving. PFO is diagnosed through a transthoracic echocardiogram and can be confirmed on a transesophageal echocardiogram (TEE) as well as a cardiac CT scan or MRI. In addition, Dr. Frank explains that an extensive workup would be required by both a cardiologist and a neurologist to help determine the role that the PFO may have had in a stroke event. “The vast majority of people with a PFO do not require treatment,” says Dr. Frank. “However, in a select group of people between the ages of 18 and Benefits of PFO closure procedure with a transcatheter closure device ♥ Requires only a single overnight hospital stay ♥ Procedure performed while patient is awake ♥ The success rate for device closure is 95% ♥ Closing the PFO significantly reduces the chance for a recurrent stroke for those who had a cryptogenic stroke
60 who have suffered a stroke or have had stroke- like symptoms when there is no other identifiable cause for stroke, and the PFO is a potential contributing factor, the PFO can be closed in most cases by a closure device or surgery.”
around with a hole in their heart. And we’re not talking about the lyrical hole caused by longing for an absent love. This is a PFO hole – or patent foramen ovale, which is a small hole in the wall of tissue between the left and right upper chambers of the
Adam Frank, MD, NCH Interventional Cardiologist
heart. Roughly 25 percent of the population has a PFO, but with the vast majority, it never causes any issues or problems. However, in some, it has the potential to lead to a medical problem – in particular, cryptogenic stroke. PFO is an anatomic or developmental anomaly with no specific cause other than it just doesn’t close normally. PFO has no regard for gender, and in a very great majority of patients, it poses no concerns or health risks. However, there are select circumstances where it can potentially be a problem. “We are all born with a small hole that closes soon after birth, usually in the first year or two of life in the vast majority of us,” explains Adam Frank, MD, NCH Interventional Cardiologist. “But in some people, it will remain open. And, we know that it is a potential risk for a paradoxical embolus which can lead to a debilitating stroke that can occur at any age. Additionally, a paradoxical embolus in the form of blood clots,
Signs you may have a PFO that needs closure ♥ Suffered a stroke or have had stroke-like symptoms for which there is no other identifiable cause and the PFO is a potential contributing factor ♥ Shortness of breath or hypoxia ♥ Migraine headaches ♥ Decompression sickness while scuba diving
For more information, contact Vanessa Russino, APRN-BC, NCH Heart Institute Structural Heart Coordinator, at (239) 624-4274.
Education Is The Key ToDiabetes Prevention
FOOD CONTROL
DIAGNOSTIC
EXERCISE
HEALTH FOOD KEEP NORMAL WEIGHT
Dr. Gilberto Riveron, Family Medicine Physician with the NCH Physician Group
Diabetes is the number one cause of blindness and can cause kidney and nerve damage and can lead to the amputation of limbs. It is also the seventh leading cause of death among Americans. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 30 percent of Americans have pre-diabetes and don’t even know it. Dr. Riveron wants to make people more aware of diabetes and the damage the disease can do to a person’s body. African American, Native American, Asian and Latino populations are at higher risk for contracting diabetes, as are individuals with a family history of the disease, or who are obese or lead a sedentary life. “You need to be proactive and have a healthy lifestyle,” he says. “The message I want to send is that the prevalence of this disease is high,” adding that those with an increased risk should see their doctor for diabetes screening. Dr. Riveron says he believes diabetes has become more common because of a change in the American lifestyle. “The tendency for
the last 80 to 100 years has been an increasing access to food and carbohydrates and less exercise,” he explains. While diabetes is more prevalent in people over age 65, Dr. Riveron says he is seeing more patients in their 40s and 50s. One of the biggest keys to prevention, he shares, is educating children in schools, but he admits that is difficult with various cultures and family traditions. “Right now, we are just catching up with this,” says Dr. Riveron. “We are just treating those that are diabetic or close to becoming diabetic and we are not treating the root of the problem.” Dr. Riveron graduated from the Institute of Medical Sciences of Santiago, Cuba. He completed his residency at Bayfront Medical Center in St. Petersburg, Fla. and at the Community Policlinic in Holguin, Cuba. Dr. Riveron specializes in Family Medicine and is board certified by the American Board of Family Medicine.
in Bonita Springs, says he is seeing a startling epidemic in the number of patients being
treated for diabetes. According to a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 30.3 million Americans are afflicted with the disease. “What we are doing is catching up right now,” says Dr. Riveron, who specializes in cardiovascular disease prevention, health maintenance and preventative medicine. “We have to put more into prevention. We need to do more than a primary care visit. We need to teach it at work, in schools and in restaurants. We need to teach people how important it is to prevent this.”
Dr. Riveron’s office is located at 3302 Bonita Beach Rd., Suite 170, Bonita Springs, FL 34134. To schedule an appointment, please call (239) 624-1050
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