Patent Foramen Ovale: Advances in Mechanisms, Diagnosis, and Therapy

Patent Foramen Ovale (PFO) is a common congenital cardiac anatomical variant present in approximately 25% of the general population. While its clinical significance remains a subject of ongoing research, PFO has been increasingly implicated in a variety of conditions, most notably cryptogenic stroke, migraine with aura, decompression sickness, and platypnea-orthodeoxia syndrome. Advances in diagnostic imaging, procedural techniques, and patient selection have transformed the approach to PFO management, yet many uncertainties and controversies persist in the field.

This Research Topic aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the latest scientific and clinical advances related to PFO. We invite original research articles, reviews, case reports, and perspectives addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:

• Epidemiology and pathophysiology of PFO
• Mechanisms linking PFO to stroke and other clinical conditions
• Advances in diagnostic approaches and imaging techniques
• Developments in closure devices and procedural techniques
• Patient selection, risk stratification, and long-term outcomes
• Management of PFO in special populations (e.g., elderly, pediatric, patients with complex comorbidities)
• Non-interventional management and antithrombotic strategies
• Health economic implications and cost-effectiveness of PFO closure
• Unresolved controversies and future research directions

By bringing together world-leading experts and emerging voices in the field, this collection aims to stimulate discussion, advance understanding, and inform evidence-based practice related to PFO. We particularly welcome multidisciplinary perspectives that bridge gaps across cardiology, neurology, radiology, and allied specialties.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Clinical Trial
• Curriculum, Instruction, and Pedagogy
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Clinical Trial
• Curriculum, Instruction, and Pedagogy
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Policy and Practice Reviews
• Review
• Study Protocol
• Systematic Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: Patent Foramen Ovale (PFO), cryptogenic stroke, percutaneous closure, interventional cardiology, diagnostic imaging, migraine, platypnea-orthodeoxia, stroke prevention, cardiovascular outcomes.

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.