A question for those of you that have been tested for a PFO

[Lopaka]

I believe the TEE is a couple thousand with the repair being around 20k in the US.

Sounds about right. Think my TEE was a bit more. Cardiologist bill alone was 8k, with my local cardio guy, hospital, etc. added on top of that.

edit: The comment about the cardiologists was the cost of the PFO closure procedure, not the TEE.

 

[DCBC]

Have you asked your Doctor about transcranial doppler (TCD)? This is safe, easy and less expensive than TEE with almost as good detection (90-95% the sensitivity as TEE).

 

[nilsdiver]

I got a TCD done for free at UCLA medical center in California as part of volunteering for a study being done. The TCD is nice because it can done quickly (30 minutes or less?) and you can walk right out.

 

[Dr. Doug Ebersole]

There's no pay (for the participants or for me!) for our PFO study. We are having people fill out a diving questionnaire on enrollment and then contacting them annually about their diving history that year. We are simply hoping to gain some insight as to the risks/benefits of diving with a PFO -- either one that was left alone or one that was closed. Any and all willing participants would be greatly appreciated. If interested, we would send you the consent form describing the plan in detail and the enrollment questionnaire.