Rashkind balloon atrial septostomy

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The Rashkind balloon atrial septostomy is a medical procedure, performed during cardiac catheterization (heart cath), in which a balloon catheter is used to enlarge a foramen ovale, patent foramen ovale (PFO), or atrial septal defect (ASD) in order to increase oxygen saturation in patients with cyanotic congenital heart defects (CHDs). It was developed in 1966 by American surgeons William Rashkind and William Miller at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.