Heart defect is linked to migraine

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

Repair of patent foramen ovale may provide a solution to migraine in some cases.
Migraine can cause severe pain and visual disturbances. It is not always relieved by medication but some sufferers, at least, may be helped by a surprising new approach. Previous research has shown that people with migraine are more likely to have a heart defect called patent foramen ovale (PFO) which is a hole in the heart, between the two upper chambers. This is normally present in the fetus, but closes after birth. In around 25 per cent it stays partially open, leaving the PFO as a tiny, flap-covered passage between the two chambers.

Now researchers at Washington University in St Louis have shown that repairing PFO can help with migraine. The centre is involved in a trial on 500 migraine patients with PFO who have not responded to medication. The study builds on findings from the UK that show that PFO closure leads to 37 per cent reduction in migraine frequency and duration. The operation involves a device called the Premere(TM), which is delivered to the heart through a vein in the leg. Once in place, it opens up like a miniature umbrella, and seals off the PFO. But why does PFO lead to migraine? It may be that blood is traveling direct through the PFO from the right to left hand side of the heart. There may be something in this blood which triggers migraine attacks. Normally it would pass to the lungs, and maybe they normally clear this substance away.

Source
Washington University in St Louis 10th January 2007