A sudden right-to-left shunt: the importance of evaluating patent foramen ovale during exercise

Abstract

A 55-year-old male affected by heart failure with reduced ejection fraction and a history of a transient cerebrovascular accident was accepted to the Cardiology Department for worsening dyspnoea. A cardiopulmonary exercise testing was performed after therapy optimization to further evaluate exercise intolerance. A rapid increase in VE/VCO2 slope, PETO2, and RER, with a concomitant decrease in PETCO2 and SpO2, were observed during the test. These findings indicate exercise-induced pulmonary hypertension leading to a right-to-left shunt. Subsequent echocardiography with a bubble test unveiled the presence of an unknown patent foramen ovale. It is, therefore, necessary to exclude a right-to-left shunt by cardiopulmonary exercise testing, particularly in patients predisposed to develop pulmonary hypertension during exercise. Indeed, this eventuality might potentially provoke severe cardiovascular embolisms. However, the patent foramen ovale closure in patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction is still debated because of its potential hemodynamic worsening.