Migraines and a Hole in the Heart

It’s not commonly known that people with a small congenital heart abnormality – a patent foramen ovale – is linked to an increased risk of becoming a migraineur. The foramen ovale is an opening between the two atria (auricles, or upper chambers) of the heart that normally closes around the time of birth. In 10% - 15% of people it doesn’t close completely. This doesn’t usually cause problems, but recently a link has been shown between an open, or patent, foramen ovale and the occurrence of migraine.

Closing a patent ovale used to be a fairly serious open-heart surgical procedure, but nowadays it can be done by cardiac catheterization – a relatively simple procedure with only a short hospital stay.

How effective is closing a foramen ovale in relieving migraines? A recent study of this repair in patients with severe migraine resulted in half the patients having a 50% reduction in their number of ‘headache days’ – something worth considering for those who are often severely incapacitated by their migraines.