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TCD Bubble Test Clinic

The TCD Bubble Test Clinic is a specialist clinic which is accessible to Stroke Consultants only.   

People who have had an unexplained or "cryptogenic" stroke (that means they do not have significant stroke risk factors) are offered a battery of tests to consider potential underlying causes. The bubble test is one of those tests.  It is a screening test to identify a 'hole-in-the-heart', usually a PFO (patent foramen ovale).  The hole is often called a "shunt" because blood is shunted from one side of the heart to the other.  A PFO is a connection between the two sides of the heart, which usually closes at birth, but recent evidence indicates incomplete closure in about 1 in 5 people.

While the majority of people with a PFO have no associated problems, some medical conditions are associated with a higher incidence of this condition, including: unexplained stroke (cryptogenic stroke) and migraine.  Recent evidence suggests that PFO closure may be appropriate where the PFO is deemed to be causative and there are no other significant stroke risk factors identified. 

Please note that trainees or medical students may be in attendance, and attendees may be asked to consider participation in any approved research projects that may be ongoing. .