Assessment of Flecainide to Lower the Patent Foramen Ovale Closure Risk of Atrial Arrhythmia or Tachycardia

About 30% of ischemic strokes are cryptogenic. Patent Foramen Ovale (PFO) is present in about 25% of the general population. In cryptogenic strokes, PFO has been shown to be overrepresented and recent intervention studies have confirmed that PFO has a causal link with stroke. In patients with recent cryptogenic stroke, these randomized studies have shown at least 50%-reduction of recurrent neurological events after PFO percutaneous closure compared with medical therapy alone. At the The risk of AF reported in these studies in certainly largely underestimated as only symptomatic and recorded episodes of AF have been declared. Patients often report palpitations without a dia gnosis of AF made on the ECG or a Holter. Long term ECG monitoring provides more accurate data on AF incidence. Administration of flecainide has been shown to be effective in preventing Atrial arrhythmia and may be useful in preventing these Atrial arrhythmia(AA) episodes after PFO closure. To the knowledge of the investigators, there is no study assessing the efficacy of any antiarrhythmic drug in the prevention of AFafter PFO closure. AFLOAT will be the first randomized study to possibly validate flecainide to prevent Atrial arrhythmia in these patients.