Heart Beat: Hole in the heart
Heart Beat
All babies are born with a hole in the heart between the right atrium and the left. Although it usually closes within a year or so, in up to one-third of people a small opening remains into adulthood. This hole, called a patent foramen ovale, usually has no effect on heart function. It has been branded, though, as a cause of stroke in some young adults. Now there is new evidence that it could be responsible for some strokes in older people, too.
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