EnableMe | enableme - stroke recovery and support

Hi folks, Sophie here to share a new video about PFOs!

Some of you might be familiar with PFO (Patent Foramen Ovale). It's a hole between two chambers of the heart that can allow blood clots to cross and enter the brain, leading to an ischemic stroke. 1 in 4 people have a PFO, but for most people it doesn't cause a problem.

When I had a stroke in 2020, tests in hospital discovered a PFO. With no other probable explanation for my stroke, the finger was pointed at my PFO. I was recommended I had it closed to decrease my risk of having another stroke.

As a 31-year-old runner the idea that there was something wrong with my heart was incredibly distressing. And that news came on top of having a stroke a couple of days earlier.

I went straight to the internet looking for reassurance from someone like me with a PFO. What’s the procedure like? How did you feel afterwards? Can you exercise? I couldn’t find anything.

I was on the waitlist for 8 months and spent all that time anxious about my impending PFO closure and how it would impact me. Talking the procedure through with my cardiologist helped, but there’s nothing like hearing it straight from people who have lived it.

Since being involved in Young Stroke, I’ve wanted to make the video that I was looking for. Together with two other young survivors of stroke, we share our experience of PFO in the hopes that it will lighten the load for others waiting for their PFO closures.

Have you had a PFO closure or are you waiting for one? Feel free to add your experience to the conversation in the comments!

I too had a Stroke in 2017, I was 42 fit and healthy and training for a marathon. I also discovered I had a PFO, I had my closure done 11 months after. I delayed mine due to the anxiety of having them touch my heart ( I am a nurse I was overthinking everything).

I have fully recovered and went on to run 2 marathons since.

Another post PFO closure marathoner! Love to hear it Leanne, thanks for sharing!

Hi! Love this post, I had a stroke in Dec 2020, I was 42, fit and healthy. They discovered a PFO. I too delayed getting the closure as I was concentrating on my stroke recovery and was anxious about having another operation ‘close to home’. After working on my mental health and the anxiety and feeling better in my body, I was ready and had the op in August ‘23. I’m feeling great and had the weight lifted off my shoulders knowing I’m potentially safe from the risk of having another stroke.

Thanks for sharing your experience TamC! Good on you for putting in the hard work to get to a place where you felt emotionally ready to have the procedure, I can relate and I imagine many others will too. So glad to hear you're feeling great now!

Take care

- Sophie