PFO CLOSURE A to Z
Friday, October 16, 2026 from 16:00 CEST
Moderators:
Stefan Bertog, Minneapolis Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Minneapolis, USA
Horst Sievert, CardioVascular Center CVC Frankfurt, Germany
Panelists:
Hidehiko Hara, Toho University Ohashi Medical Center, Tokyo, Japan
Clifford Kavinsky, Loyola University Medical Center, Chicago, USA
Program:
History of the discovery of PFO and ASD and their treatment (from Leonardo da Vinci to King & Mills to pivotal randomized trials) >> John Carroll, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Denver, USA
PFO detection using transthoracic and transesophageal echocardiography >> Bushra Rana, Guy's and St Thomas' Hospital NHS Trust, London, UK
PFO detection using transcranial Doppler >> Paola Palazzo, Riviera-Chablais Hospital, Rennaz, Switzerland
Management of residual leaks >> Horst Sievert, CardioVascular Center CVC Frankfurt, Germany
Atrial fibrillation after PFO closure: incidence, detection, course, and treatment >> Robert Sommer, Columbia University, New York, USA
Expanding PFO closure >> David Thaler, Tufts Medical Center, Boston, USA
Case presentation from start to finish >> Stefan Bertog, Minneapolis Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Minneapolis, USA
Sponsored by:
Accredited for 2 EBAC credits
This program is accredited by the European Board for Accreditation of Continuing Education for Health Professionals (EBAC®) for 2 hours of effective education time. EBAC® holds an agreement on mutual recognition of substantive equivalency with the US Accreditation Council for CME (ACCME) and the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, respectively. Through an agreement between the European Board for Accreditation of Continuing Education for Health Professionals (EBAC®) and the American Medical Association, physicians may convert EBAC® External CME credits to AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Information on the process to convert EBAC® credit to AMA credit can be found on the AMA website. Other health care professionals may obtain from the AMA a certificate of having participated in an activity eligible for conversion of credit to AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™. EBAC® is a member of the International Academy for CPD Accreditation (IACPDA) and a partner member of the International Association of Medical Regulatory Authorities (IAMRA).