Paradoxical embolism via patent foramen ovale (PFO) is a rare cause of stroke, but it’s not uncommon to find PFOs in patients without traditional stroke risk factors (about 1 in 4 people in the general population have a PFO). How should patients with no other convincing cause of stroke be counseled, especially if invasive PFO closure is being considered? We talked to Dr. David Thaler, creator of the Risk of Paradoxical Embolism (RoPE) Score, about his research and experience with taking care of patients with cryptogenic stroke.

Dr. David Thaler
Why did you develop the RoPE Score? Was there a clinical experience that inspired you to create this tool for clinicians?
PFOs have interested and frustrated me for years. They’re so common in the general population, and we find them all the time in stroke patients, old ones and young ones. And paradoxical embolism is definitely a thing—there’s no question that it happens—but because the prevalence is so high in the general population, there’s also no question that a lot of the PFOs that we find are incidental. That’s where this started from in my mind: Continue reading “Deciphering Cryptogenic Stroke with Dr. David Thaler, Creator of the RoPE Score” →
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