Abstract:Objective To investigate different imaging methods for diagnosis of patent foramen ovale (PFO) with cryptogenic ischemic stroke (CS). Methods A retrospective analysis was carried out on 156 cases of acute ischemic stroke and 148 healthy subjects who were admitted into our hospital during January 2013 to October 2017. Chest right heart contrast echocardiography and transcranial Doppler contrast enhancement test (cTCD) were performed on all individuals. The incidence of PFO and atrial septal aneurysm (ASA) were identified. Diagnostic efficacy of two methods was evaluated. Results Incidence of PFO and PFO with ASA were higher in patient group than that in healthy control group (P < 0.05). Sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of cTCD was 75.8% (50/66),88.9% (80/90), and 83.3% (130/156), respectively. Sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of transthoracic right heart contrast echocardiography was 90.9% (60/66), 94.4% (85/90), and 92.9% (145/156), respectively. Transthoracic right heart contrast echocardiography exerted superiority in detecting PFO than cTCD did (P < 0.05). Conclusions The incidence of PFO in patients with of unknown acute ischemic stroke is higher than that of normal healthy people. Right heart acoustic contrast is superior to cTCD in diagnosis of the patent foramen ovale.