May is stroke awareness month

In 2005, I was diagnosed with a heart condition known as a Patent Foramen Ovale--my particular version of this heart anomaly also comes along with an exacerbating feature called an Atrial Septal Aneurysm.  The shorthand is PFO w/ASA.  In laymans terms, I have a flappy opening between the atrial chambers of my heart, and a weak wall between them that floats with every beat of my heart.

Cardiologists were quick to dismiss this structure as being uninteresting from the standpoint of cardiac disease--however, it carries with it an elevated risk of stroke for the duration of my life.  The mechanism is that small particles that would normally be filtered out by the lungs have the opportunity to jump across this opening in my heart, and travel straight to my brain.

PFO is estimated to be present in 15-20% of the population, and PFO with ASA is present in something more like 1% to 2%.  I was told that when people have a stroke as young adults, it is often attributed to this structure, and as you age, that risk remains constant but it is eventually exceeded by other age-related stroke mechanisms.

To date, options for correction of this heart anomaly are not good--they include open heart surgery, which carries the risk of immediate death and placement of a device called an Amplatzer patch through a catheter, which does not have as a high a risk profile but most likely would end any ability I have to exercise and train seriously.  The result is that I manage the risk by taking a full strength aspirin a day and I cannot afford the risk of sitting in cramped conditions without being able to move my legs for more than an hour at a time.  To date, I have had no issues with stroke, but not everybody is that lucky.

May is Stroke Awareness month, and a rapid response is often the most critical thing in responding to a stroke.  Medications to aid in dissolving a clot (if a clot is the source of the stroke) have to be administered before the 6 hour mark after the onset of symptoms, and since it may take as long as 6 hours to work through the emergency room of any hospital, you have very little time to react.

Know the signs--you might just save someone's life!