Association between atrial septal aneurysm and patent foramen ovale in young patients with recent stroke and normal carotid arteries.

Background: Atrial septal aneurysm (ASA) has been considered a potential source of cardiogenic embolism for many years. The ASA Multicenter Italian (ASA-MI) Study evaluated the prevalence and characteristics of ASA in patients with stroke and normal carotid arteries compared with control patients without stroke. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the frequency of ASA and the association with patent foramen ovale (PFO) in the subgroup of younger patients (aged less than 55 years) included in the ASA-MI Study.