{"id":101700,"date":"2025-05-20T18:13:21","date_gmt":"2025-05-20T18:13:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/king-faisal-hospital-performs-rwandas-first-stroke-related-heart-surgery"},"modified":"2025-05-20T18:35:56","modified_gmt":"2025-05-20T18:35:56","slug":"king-faisal-hospital-performs-rwandas-first-stroke-related-heart-surgery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/king-faisal-hospital-performs-rwandas-first-stroke-related-heart-surgery","title":{"rendered":"King Faisal Hospital performs Rwanda\u2019s first stroke-related heart surgery"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"color: #ff6600\"><strong>Africa-Press &#8211; Rwanda. <\/strong><\/span>King Faisal Hospital has successfully carried out Rwanda\u2019s first percutaneous closure of a patent foramen ovale (PFO), a rare catheter-based heart procedure performed on a stroke patient.<\/p>\n<p>The procedure happened on Friday, May 16, and was led by Dr Hugues Lucron, a visiting cardiologist from Switzerland, alongside Rwandan specialist Dr Ge\u0301rard Misago.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are deeply grateful to Occlutech Europe and all our partners for their vital support in making this national milestone possible,\u201d the hospital said in a Monday post on X.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt marks a proud step forward in advancing innovation, expertise and excellence in cardiovascular care in Rwanda.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A PFO is a small flap-like hole between the heart\u2019s upper chambers that usually closes at birth. When it stays open, it can allow blood clots to pass from the right to the left side of the heart and potentially trigger a stroke.<\/p>\n<p>In most people, it causes no issues. But in some cases, especially patients with cryptogenic strokes, low blood oxygen or a history of blood clots, doctors may recommend its closure.<\/p>\n<p>Using a catheter inserted through a vein, the medical team deploys a closure device made of a nickel-titanium alloy that effectively plugs the hole. Over time, heart tissue grows around the device, permanently sealing the opening.<\/p>\n<p>Experts say, PFO closures are typically considered for stroke survivors under age 60, especially those who have had multiple unexplained strokes.<\/p>\n<p>The procedure also offers an option for patients who cannot take long-term blood thinners. The device remains in the heart for life. Most patients return home within a day or two after the operation and resume normal activities shortly after.<\/p>\n<p><strong>For More News And Analysis About <span style=\"color: #ff6600\">Rwanda<\/span> Follow <span style=\"color: #ff6600\">Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Africa-Press &#8211; Rwanda. King Faisal Hospital has successfully carried out Rwanda\u2019s first percutaneous closure of a patent foramen ovale (PFO), a rare catheter-based heart procedure performed on a stroke patient. The procedure happened on Friday, May 16, and was led by Dr Hugues Lucron, a visiting cardiologist from Switzerland, alongside Rwandan specialist Dr Ge\u0301rard Misago. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":101699,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,30],"tags":[7374,5178,7375,758,2112],"class_list":["post-101700","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-community","tag-cardiology","tag-king-faisal-hospital","tag-pfo","tag-rwanda","tag-stroke"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.1 (Yoast SEO v27.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>King Faisal Hospital performs Rwanda\u2019s first stroke-related heart surgery - Rwanda<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"King Faisal Hospital has successfully carried out Rwanda\u2019s first percutaneous closure of a patent foramen ovale (PFO), a ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/king-faisal-hospital-performs-rwandas-first-stroke-related-heart-surgery\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"King Faisal Hospital performs Rwanda\u2019s first stroke-related heart surgery\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"King Faisal Hospital has successfully carried out Rwanda\u2019s first percutaneous closure of a patent foramen ovale (PFO), a ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/king-faisal-hospital-performs-rwandas-first-stroke-related-heart-surgery\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Rwanda\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-05-20T18:13:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-05-20T18:35:56+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2025\/05\/sm_1747753525.716382.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"599\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/king-faisal-hospital-performs-rwandas-first-stroke-related-heart-surgery#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/king-faisal-hospital-performs-rwandas-first-stroke-related-heart-surgery\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"King Faisal Hospital performs Rwanda\u2019s first stroke-related heart surgery\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-05-20T18:13:21+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-05-20T18:35:56+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/king-faisal-hospital-performs-rwandas-first-stroke-related-heart-surgery\"},\"wordCount\":292,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/king-faisal-hospital-performs-rwandas-first-stroke-related-heart-surgery#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2025\/05\/sm_1747753525.716382.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"cardiology\",\"King Faisal Hospital\",\"PFO\",\"Rwanda\",\"Stroke\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"Community\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/king-faisal-hospital-performs-rwandas-first-stroke-related-heart-surgery#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/king-faisal-hospital-performs-rwandas-first-stroke-related-heart-surgery\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/king-faisal-hospital-performs-rwandas-first-stroke-related-heart-surgery\",\"name\":\"King Faisal Hospital performs Rwanda\u2019s first stroke-related heart surgery - 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