{"id":181261,"date":"2022-02-24T10:58:07","date_gmt":"2022-02-24T15:58:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?p=181261"},"modified":"2022-06-22T08:51:29","modified_gmt":"2022-06-22T12:51:29","slug":"fixing-a-stroke-causing-heart-hole","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2022\/02\/fixing-a-stroke-causing-heart-hole\/","title":{"rendered":"Fixing a Stroke Causing Heart Hole"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Twenty-five percent of us are born with a PFO, or Patent Foramen Ovale, an opening in the heart between the left and right atrium which failed to close properly after our birth. As a result, this hole causes some blood to leak backwards from the right atrium to the left atrium.<\/p>\n<p>While most of us never even know we have a PFO, some find out after a large blood clot formation passes through this tiny hole allowing it to travel to the brain causing a stroke.<\/p>\n<p>When you have a stroke due to an unknown cause it\u2019s called \u201ccryptogenic.\u201d Up to half of all stroke cases are considered cryptogenic, especially those occurring in younger patients. Often a PFO may often be the ultimate culprit.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_181565\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-181565\" style=\"width: 241px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-181565 size-medium img-responsive lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/LInda-Peer-Groves-photo-scaled-e1644331776697-241x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"241\" height=\"300\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/LInda-Peer-Groves-photo-scaled-e1644331776697-241x300.jpg 241w, https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/LInda-Peer-Groves-photo-scaled-e1644331776697-821x1024.jpg 821w, https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/LInda-Peer-Groves-photo-scaled-e1644331776697-768x957.jpg 768w, https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/LInda-Peer-Groves-photo-scaled-e1644331776697-1232x1536.jpg 1232w, https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/LInda-Peer-Groves-photo-scaled-e1644331776697-1643x2048.jpg 1643w, https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/LInda-Peer-Groves-photo-scaled-e1644331776697-337x420.jpg 337w, https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/LInda-Peer-Groves-photo-scaled-e1644331776697-533x665.jpg 533w, https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/LInda-Peer-Groves-photo-scaled-e1644331776697.jpg 1740w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 241px) 100vw, 241px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 241px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 241\/300;\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-181565\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>Linda Peer-Groves.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Linda Peer-Groves, 55 of West Simsbury, is a young stroke survivor. She had a stroke on Sept. 3 and doctors at UConn Health helped her find out exactly why to help prevent a future stroke.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve always been so active and healthy so I was very surprised that I had a stroke. As a young person it\u2019s been a very different and difficult experience having a stroke. I always thought strokes strike much older people,\u201d she shared.<\/p>\n<p>Turns out a diagnostic test at UConn Health\u2019s Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory showed a PFO hole was inside her heart and Peer-Groves had no idea her entire life.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI didn\u2019t know I had a PFO,\u201d shared Peer-Groves. This August during long airplane trips to and from British Columbia\u2019s Queen Charlotte Island to see her daughter she most likely developed a deep-vein thrombosis (DVT) blood clot in her leg due to the air travel that eventually traveled through her PFO in her heart and then up to her brain.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve flown my whole life and never once had a problem,\u201d says Peer-Groves who has lived previously in Southeast Asia including Cambodia, the Philippines, and India.<\/p>\n<p>Two weeks after her return from Canada to Connecticut Peer-Groves started to experience some weird weakness feeling in her hand and foot just on the right side of her body.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI knew I was having a stroke,\u201d said Peer-Groves. \u201cI always heard you should never ignore any body weakness and to act FAST to get to the hospital if you think you are having a stroke.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She quickly received the clot-busting medication tPA at the Emergency Department of UConn John Dempsey Hospital, home to a 24\/7 Stroke Center.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wonderplugingallery-container\" id=\"wonderplugingallery-container-375\" style=\"max-width:960px;margin:0 auto;\"><div class=\"wonderplugingallery\" id=\"wonderplugingallery-375\" data-galleryid=\"375\" data-width=\"960\" data-height=\"540\" data-skin=\"horizontal\" data-playsinline=\"false\" data-mutevideo=\"false\" data-random=\"false\" data-autoslide=\"false\" data-autoplayvideo=\"false\" data-schemamarkup=\"false\" data-stopallplaying=\"false\" data-reloadonvideoend=\"false\" data-donotuseposter=\"false\" data-enabletabindex=\"false\" data-loadnextonvideoend=\"false\" data-hidetitlewhenvideoisplaying=\"false\" data-disablehovereventontouch=\"false\" data-autoslideandplayafterfirstplayed=\"false\" data-html5player=\"true\" data-responsive=\"true\" data-fullwidth=\"false\" data-showtitle=\"true\" data-showdescription=\"true\" data-showplaybutton=\"true\" data-showfullscreenbutton=\"true\" data-showtimer=\"true\" data-showcarousel=\"true\" data-galleryshadow=\"true\" data-slideshadow=\"false\" data-thumbshowtitle=\"false\" data-thumbshadow=\"false\" data-lightboxshowtitle=\"true\" data-lightboxshowdescription=\"true\" data-specifyid=\"true\" data-donotinit=\"false\" data-addinitscript=\"false\" data-triggerresize=\"false\" data-thumbcolumnsresponsive=\"false\" data-thumbverticalmiddle=\"true\" data-removeinlinecss=\"true\" data-switchonmouseover=\"false\" data-showcategory=\"true\" data-showimgtitle=\"false\" data-titlesmallscreen=\"false\" data-initsocial=\"true\" data-showsocial=\"false\" data-showemail=\"false\" data-showfacebook=\"true\" data-showtwitter=\"true\" data-showpinterest=\"true\" data-socialrotateeffect=\"true\" data-doshortcodeontext=\"false\" data-loop=\"0\" data-duration=\"1500\" data-slideduration=\"1000\" data-slideshowinterval=\"6000\" data-googleanalyticsaccount=\"\" data-resizemode=\"fill\" data-imagetoolboxmode=\"mouseover\" data-effect=\"fade\" data-padding=\"6\" data-bgcolor=\"#ffffff\" data-bgimage=\"\" data-thumbwidth=\"64\" data-thumbheight=\"48\" data-thumbgap=\"8\" data-thumbrowgap=\"16\" data-lightboxtextheight=\"72\" data-lightboxtitlecss=\"{color:#333333; font:bold 12px Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; overflow:hidden; white-space:normal; line-height:18px;}\" data-lightboxdescriptioncss=\"{color:#333333; font:normal 12px Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; overflow:hidden; white-space:normal; line-height:14px;}\" data-titlecss=\"{color:#ffffff; font-size:14px; font-family:Armata, sans-serif, Arial; overflow:hidden; text-align:left; padding:10px 0px 10px 10px; background:rgb(102, 102, 102) transparent; background:rgba(102, 102, 102, 0.6);}\" data-descriptioncss=\"{color:#ffffff; font-size:13px; font-family:Armata, sans-serif, Arial; overflow:hidden; text-align:left; padding:0px 0px 10px 10px; background:rgb(102, 102, 102) transparent; background:rgba(102, 102, 102, 0.6);}\" data-titleheight=\"72\" data-titlesmallscreenwidth=\"640\" data-titleheightsmallscreen=\"148\" data-socialmode=\"mouseover\" data-socialposition=\"position:absolute;top:8px;right:8px;\" data-socialpositionlightbox=\"position:absolute;top:8px;right:8px;\" data-socialdirection=\"horizontal\" data-socialbuttonsize=\"32\" data-socialbuttonfontsize=\"18\" data-defaultvideovolume=\"1\" data-thumbtitleheight=\"24\" data-thumbmediumtitleheight=\"48\" data-thumbsmalltitleheight=\"72\" data-categoryheight=\"36\" data-categorydefault=\"all\" data-triggerresizedelay=\"100\" data-thumbmediumsize=\"800\" data-thumbsmallsize=\"480\" data-thumbmediumwidth=\"64\" data-thumbmediumheight=\"64\" data-thumbsmallwidth=\"48\" data-thumbsmallheight=\"48\" data-imgtitle=\"title\" data-categorystyle=\"buttons\" data-categorylist=\"[{&quot;slug&quot;:&quot;all&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;Show All&quot;}]\" data-jsfolder=\"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/plugins\/wonderplugin-library\/engine\/\" style=\"display:none;\" ><a class=\"html5galleryimglink\" data-mediatype=6 href=\"https:\/\/f12.cf.brightcove.com\/854081208001\/854081208001_4258055127001_GORE--CARDIOFORM-Occluder-ASD-Animation.mp4?pubId=854081208001&amp;videoId=4257987679001\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"html5galleryimg html5gallery-tn-image\" src=\"\" alt=\"PFO Closure with Cardioform\"><\/a><div class=\"html5gallery-info\"><div class=\"html5gallery-title\">PFO Closure with Cardioform<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><script>function wondergallery_375_appendcss(csscode) {var head=document.head || document.getElementsByTagName(\"head\")[0];var style=document.createElement(\"style\");head.appendChild(style);style.type=\"text\/css\";if (style.styleSheet){style.styleSheet.cssText=csscode;} else {style.appendChild(document.createTextNode(csscode));}};wondergallery_375_appendcss(\"#wonderplugingallery-375 .html5gallery-cat-selection-375 { \ttext-align: center; }  #wonderplugingallery-375 .html5gallery-cat-tag-375 { \tdisplay: inline-block; \tborder: none; \tbackground: transparent; \tcolor: #ccc;   \tpadding: 6px; \tfont-size: 14px; \tfont-weight: normal; \t   \tfont-family: Lucida Sans Unicode,Lucida Grande,sans-serif,Arial;   \tbox-sizing: border-box;    \tcursor: pointer;   \ttext-align: center;   \ttext-decoration: none;   \ttext-shadow: none;   \ttext-transform: none;   \twhite-space: nowrap;   \t-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;   \tborder-radius: 2px;   \ttransition: background-color 0.3s ease; }  #wonderplugingallery-375 .html5gallery-cat-tag-375:hover, #wonderplugingallery-375 .html5gallery-cat-tag-375:focus, #wonderplugingallery-375 .html5gallery-cat-tag-selected-375 { \tcolor: #fff; }\");<\/script>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Once he discovered the PFO, interventional cardiology expert Dr. JuYong Lee, closed the PFO on December 13, 2021 minimally invasively via a guide wire placing a tiny device called Cardioform inside her heart to plug the heart hole between heart atriums forever and to prevent future strokes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEverything inside my heart now looks great! Now nothing can pass through my heart\u2019s little hole thanks to this tiny heart device which looks like two umbrellas,\u201d shared Peer-Groves who reports she didn\u2019t feel a thing during the quick, same-day outpatient heart procedure performed minimally-invasively through groin vein access.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_181270\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-181270\" style=\"width: 364px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-181270 img-responsive lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Cardioform-300x155.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"364\" height=\"188\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Cardioform-300x155.jpg 300w, https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Cardioform-1024x528.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Cardioform-768x396.jpg 768w, https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Cardioform-1536x792.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Cardioform-630x325.jpg 630w, https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Cardioform-1289x665.jpg 1289w, https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Cardioform.jpg 1667w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 364px) 100vw, 364px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 364px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 364\/188;\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-181270\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>Animation of the Cardioform device used to close a PFO made by GORE.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>She is currently on aspirin and a blood thinning medication to reduce the chance of future blood clots forming as well. Plus, she is also continuing to make great strides during her physical therapy rehabilitation at UConn Health post-stroke.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s been so encouraging. UConn Health is really helping me a lot,\u201d says Peer-Groves who hopes her progress will help her return someday to being a French teacher once again in Bloomfield.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy husband and I have a lot of confidence in Dr. Lee,\u201d said Peer-Groves who is very thankful for his care and expertise.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPFO closure significantly reduces the recurrent stroke risk compared to aspirin or blood thinning medical therapy alone in patients with cryptogenic stroke,\u201d says Lee, director of vascular medicine and endovascular medicine and the non-invasive vascular laboratory, and interventional cardiologist at UConn Health\u2019s Calhoun Cardiology Center.<\/p>\n<p>Lee adds: \u201cI am so happy to help patients like Linda actually know they have a PFO and help them prevent having a future cardiovascular event such as stroke.\u201d<\/p>\n<aside class=\"grey-sidebar full-sidebar\">\n  <\/p>\n<p><strong>Time is Brain \u2013 BEFAST<\/strong><br \/>\nKnow the warning signs and symptoms of stroke so that you can act fast if you or someone you know might be having a stroke. The chances of survival are greater when emergency treatment begins quickly.<\/p>\n<p><strong>B \u2013 BALANCE<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 watch for sudden loss of balance.<\/p>\n<p><strong>E \u2013 EYES<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 check for vision loss<\/p>\n<p><strong>F \u2013 FACE<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Does one side of the face droop or is it numb? Is the smile uneven?<\/p>\n<p><strong>A-ARM<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 is one arm week or numb<\/p>\n<p><strong>S \u2013 SPEECH<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 is speech slurred? Unable to speak or hard to understand?<\/p>\n<p><strong>T \u2013 TIME<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 if someone shows any of these symptoms, even if the symptoms go away, call 9-1-1 and get the person to the hospital immediately.\u00a0 Check the time so you know when symptoms first appeared.<\/p>\n<p>Seek emergency care when you need it. UConn Health\u2019s Emergency Department and its dedicated Stroke Center team are ready 24\/7 to help you safely and promptly.<\/p>\n<p><\/aside>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Twenty-five percent of us have a small opening in our heart between the left and right atrium called a PFO. While most of us will never know we have a PFO, some find out after a stroke. See how doctors at UConn Health are helping a young stroke survivor born with a PFO prevent a future stroke.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":98,"featured_media":169012,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_crdt_document":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_series":0,"wds_primary_attribution":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1969,2231,2288,179],"tags":[],"magazine-issues":[],"coauthors":[1873],"class_list":["post-181261","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cardiology","category-health-well-being","category-neurology","category-uconn-health","series-heart-health","series-patient-perspective"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-19 10:27:17","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/181261","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/users\/98"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=181261"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/181261\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":181567,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/181261\/revisions\/181567"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media\/169012"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=181261"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=181261"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=181261"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/magazine-issues?post=181261"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=181261"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}