Physiologic closure of a symptomatic patent foramen ovale with oxygen therapy.

Surgery is required for correction of a physiologically significant patent foramen ovale. We report a patient with poliomyelitis and respiratory failure in whom a patent foramen ovale became symptomatic because of hypoxemia-induced pulmonary hypertension. Oxygen therapy and mechanical ventilation reversed the pulmonary hypertension, resulting in physiologic termination of the patent foramen ovale without surgery.