Doppler ultrasound assessment of minor atrial septal defects in patients with paradoxical embolism

Abstract

Minor atrial septal defect (ASD) may be one of the pathways of paradoxical embolism in the brain. Few scientific papers have investigated the relationship between ASD (excluding patent foramen ovale) and the occurrence of ischemic stroke. There is no definite opinion as to how functionally important such shunts are and how the shunt changes with age. The review analyzes modern ideas about the probability of paradoxical embolism in small ASDs from the viewpoint of pathophysiology, and also demonstrates the technological capabilities of assessing the functional significance of such shunts based on our own clinical observations.

Keywords

• atrial septal defect
• contrast-enhanced transcranial doppler ultrasound
• ischaemic stroke
• paradoxical embolism