Is patent foramen ovale serious in adults?

"The foramen ovale has not closed when the child was born. Now he is more than three years old. The doctor suggested to check again in half a year. The child weighs only 13.4kg. Could it be related to the foramen ovale?" Whether the closed foramen ovale will have a bad influence on the child's future is a problem that many parents are worried about. Is patent foramen ovale serious in adults? What are the symptoms? Let’s find out now.

Patent foramen ovale is a congenital disease caused by the failure or obstruction of the closure of the foramen ovale during the embryonic stage, resulting in the foramen ovale still not closing at birth. This disease itself has no clinical symptoms and is often found accidentally during cardiac ultrasound. However, this type of disease is very likely to cause a series of high-complications, such as thrombosis. The embolus breaks off and occludes the internal organs' blood vessels with the blood, leading to serious complications such as internal organ infarction. Therefore, cardiac ultrasound should be performed to determine the degree of patent foramen ovale and provide treatment in time.

What are the symptoms of patent foramen ovale in adults?

First: If the foramen ovale is simply not closed and there are no other heart diseases, there is no need to worry too much, but it must be made clear that the child has no other problems. The patent foramen ovale alone should not easily affect his growth and development. Notice if his lips turn purple-blue when he exercises or cries. If so, we need to check it in detail.

Second: In-depth analysis shows that when we are born and learn to breathe with our lungs, the pumping pressure of the left atrium becomes greater than that of the right atrium, and the foramen ovale, a side door in the upper part of the heart that is the distance between the left atrium and the right atrium, will close as a result. As time goes by, fiber tissue will grow on the foramen ovale to further seal the door to maintain a closed state. In this way, the oxygen-deficient blood flowing through the right atrium is completely separated from the CO2-filled blood in the left atrium, and the CO2-filled blood, with the help of the left atrium, can be fully pumped to the whole body to provide oxygen. Foreign scientific research has pointed out that about 25 to 30% of people have this side door that is not completely closed, which is called "patent foramen ovale."

Third: Patent foramen ovale has a significant impact on some people because the oxygen-deficient blood flowing through the right atrium will flow through this side door to the left atrium and mix with the blood filled with CO2 there. In this way, the oxygen content of the blood pumped to the whole body through the left atrium is reduced.

Frequently asked questions

If the blood from the right atrium contains blood clots (thrombi), they will also be pumped directly to the head by the left atrium, causing cardiovascular blockage and stroke. A blood clot may also form in a faulty foramen ovale and migrate to the left atrium and upper brain, causing a stroke.