CardioNeurology Clinic

About the Clinic

Our clinic—a collaborative effort of the Neurology Department, Heart Center, Division of Hematology and Oncology and Mass General for Children Pediatric Hematology & Oncology—is one of the few of its kind in the United States. We have expertise in evaluating and treating conditions such as:

• Disorders related to congenital heart conditions in both adult and pediatric patients (e.g. patent foramen ovale [PFO] or septal defects). Pediatric patients are evaluated by the Mass General for Children Pediatric Stroke Service
• Stroke related to PFO, dilated cardiomyopathies, cardiac valvular diseases or paradoxical emboli (a clot from the right side of the heart)
• PFO and migraine
• Conditions and arteriopathies related to both the heart and vascular system
• Peripheral venous thrombotic disorders (e.g. May-Thurner syndrome)
• Cerebral venous sinus thromboses
• Clotting disorders (e.g. antiphospholipid antibody syndrome

A Clinical & Research Focus on PFO

Ferdinando Buonanno, MD, one of the world's leading experts in PFO, founded the CardioNeurology Clinic in 2006. In 2002 he also cofounded the Pediatric Stroke Service. He is now retired.

He and Dr. MingMing Ning have published a number of important papers on this condition, including:

• "An electrocardiographic criterion for diagnosis of patent foramen ovale associated with ischemic stroke"
• "Contrast M-mode power Doppler ultrasound in the detection of right-to-left shunts: utility of submandibular internal carotid artery recording"

MingMing Ning, MD, now serves as director of this clinic. Dr. Ning also established and now directs the Clinical Proteomics Research Center (CPRC) at Mass General.

The CardioNeurology Clinic and CPRC are committed to understanding neurological disorders related to, or associated with, heart conditions such as PFO, and developing more effective approaches to caring for patients.