Practical advice on detecting & managing patients with PFO
- Epidemiology and the PFO-associated illnesses
- Anatomy and morphology of PFO:
Pathologic and therapeutic implications - Differences between PFO & ASD
- Diagnostic techniques for:
- PFO detection
- Assessing the morphology of PFO
- Quantification of the right-to-left shunt
- Decision pathways for optimal PFO management for the secondary prevention of stroke
- Calculators for risk estimation in patients with stroke & PFO
- Reviewing randomized trials comparing PF closure with medical therapy
- Updated indications for PFO closure for the secondary prevention of stroke
- The work-up of cryptogenic stroke :
Pre-PFO closure investigations to rule-out other potential causes of stroke - Complications of PFO closure
- Optimal regimen & duration of antithrombotic therapy after PFO closure
- Role of antithrombotic therapy in patients with PFO and no indication for closure
- Clinical significance of PFO in other illnesses:
- Decompression Illness
- Platypnoea–Orthodeoxia Syndrome
- Migraine with Aura
- Identification of a high risk PFO-associated stroke prior to the first stroke
- Role of prophylactic PFO closure in high-risk patients such as thrombophilia
The role of carotid stenosis management in the primary and secondary prevention of stroke
- Screening for carotid artery stenosis: indications
- Diagnostic evaluation of carotid artery stenosis: choosing the best imaging method & decision pathway
- Ultrasonographic criteria for the severity of carotid artery stenosis
- Management of asymptomatic carotid stenosis
- Management of symptomatic carotid stenosis
- Revascularization: CAS or CEA?
- Medical Therapy (antithrombotic therapy in primary prevention, optimal lipid and BP control, and Life-style modification)
Atrial fibrillation screening: from risk prediction to detection and clinical outcomes
- Indications for rhythm monitoring to detect AF after ischemic stroke
- Optimal duration & method for AF detection in patients with ischemic stroke
- Duration threshold & burden of AF in extended rhythm monitoring to initiate anticoagulation
- Definition of cryptogenic stroke & ESUS
- Indications for anticoagulation in ESUS
- Indications of systematic AF screening in the community
- Diagnostic yields of various AF screening methods and across populations subgroups
- Recommended methods for systematic and opportunistic AF screening
- Clinical significance of AF rhythms detected in screening methods and therapeutic implications
- The burden of AF associated with significant stroke risk
- Clinical significance and management of AHRE in rhythm monitoring
- The best approach to AF screening in asymptomatic patients
Antithrombotic therapy for secondary prevention of stroke
- Early Antithrombotic treatment in TIA/CVA (First days)
- Anti-platelet therapy: agents of choice
- Anti-coagulant therapy: choosing the agent and the duration of use
- Chronic Antithrombotic therapy (including ESUS)
- Indications for DAPT
- Choosing between P2Y12 inhibitors and the duration of therapy
- Extended DAPT duration: indication & the combination of choice
- Choosing the best Monotherapy strategy
- Indications for DPI
- CVA/TIA in patient with Atrial Fibrillation
- Antithrombotic therapy after CVA/TIA
- choosing between oral anticoagulants (VKA/NOACs)
- Indication for antiplatelet therapy
- Antithrombotic therapy after PCI in patients with a history of embolic stroke
- Oral anticoagulant and antiplatelet of choice: optimal duration
- Choosing the antithrombotic therapy in special situations:
- After carotid revascularization: CAS/CEA
- Antiplatelet therapy failure
- Cerebral and cervical artery dissection
