Hole in the heart opens questions
The most common type of stroke, ischemic stroke, occurs when a clot blocks blood flow to part of the brain. Doctors can often tell what caused the clot to form. Ischemic strokes with a more mysterious origin are called cryptogenic strokes. One possible cause of a cryptogenic stroke is a hole in the wall separating the heart's right atrium from the left. Whether fixing this opening prevents such strokes has yet to be determined.
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