Migraines and a Hole in the Heart

I recently came across an interesting article written by Kathryn Grim that discusses a possible link between migraines and a hole in the heart.

Technically, a hole in the heart is known as a patent foramen ovule, or PFO, and it can best be described as an unsealed flap in the wall between the between the left and right atriums of the heart, which has the potential to cause a stroke.

PFO may allow blood clots to travel from the heart to the brain. Although PFO has the potential to be deadly, most individuals with the condition never know they have it. It has been estimated that about twenty five percent of the adult population has PFO, and never experience any complications.

The article described a gentleman who has suffered from migraines since he was in high school and who is among the twenty percent of migraine sufferers who experience an aura before the onset of a migraine. This gentleman experienced a pinprick in his vision that would expand like "snow on an old TV". After the aura, his migraine would begin. He experienced these migraine headaches two or three times per year. He had a stroke at the age of forty-one, and it was at that time that he was tested for PFO (most individuals are not tested until they have a stroke). Once it was determined that the gentleman had PFO, the defect was surgically repaired.

The interesting part of this article is that once he had the repair to correct the "hole in his heart", he no longer experienced migraine headaches. He still experienced the aura that preceded his migraines, but it did not progress into his usual migraine.

Currently, Evanston Northwestern Healthcare is one of three sites in the Midwest that are participating in a study in which two thirds of the volunteers (migraine sufferers who have not had a stroke) are given the corrective procedure and one third receive a placebo procedure, in an effort to ascertain if there is truly a link between migraines and a hole in the heart. If the study establishes a link between migraines and PFO, there could be many benefits for migraine suffers including the potential prevention of strokes.



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