Patent foramen ovale epidemiology and demographics

Approximately 1 in four healthy adults has a patent foramen ovale. The incidence decreases with increasing age, but the size increases with age. It is the most common cardiac finding in people less than 55 years with an unexplained cerebrovascular event. It is prevalent in men and women equally and has no racial predilection.

• The prevalence of patent foramen ovale is approximately 25,000 per 100,000 individuals worldwide..^[1]

• It is more common in those under the age of 30 and less common in those above 80 years.^[2]
• The incidence of patent foramen ovale varies with age:^[3]
  • 0-30 years: 34.3%
  • 40-80 years: 25.4%
  • 90+ years: 20.2%

• Patent foramen ovale size increases with age, from a mean of approximately 3mm in the first decade to approximately 6 mm in the 10th decade of life.^[3]
• In patients less than 55 years with an unexplained cerebrovascular event, patent foramen ovale is the most common cardiac finding seen. It is presumed to be caused by a paradoxical emboli.^[4]
• Patent foramen ovale is more frequently identified in younger patients with ischemic stroke of undetermined source compared with the general population. The likelihood that a PFO is pathogenic rather than incidental is higher in patients without traditional vascular risk factors.^[5]

• There is no racial predilection to patent foramen ovale.^[6]

• Patent foramen ovale affects men and women equally.^[6]

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