Analysis of left and right ventricular Doppler tissue imaging in patients undergoing percutaneous closure of patent foramen ovale.

Percutaneous patent foramen ovale (PFO) closure is performed for the prevention of paradoxical emboli. Doppler tissue imaging (DTI) was performed before and following transcatheter PFO closure in patients with an otherwise structurally normal heart to detect alterations in regional myocardial motion. The analysis revealed a mild, but statistically significant, reduction in the systolic motion of the basal interventricular septum. Other DTI parameters, including diastolic motion of the basal interventricular septum, systolic and diastolic motion of the left ventricular free-wall mitral annulus junction and the right ventricular free-wall tricuspid annulus junction, and the left ventricular cardiac performance (Tei) index remained unchanged. We found, thus, that transcatheter PFO closure does not cause major alteration in regional myocardial motion or cardiac performance.