Nearly half of patients with migraine with aura are found to have a heart defect, study finds
This one has created quite a stir in the cardiologist community. Many have moved on this information and are doing septal defect repairs in greater numbers. Skeptics point out that risk of stroke from this condition (known as paradoxical embolism – an emboli forms in the deep veins of the leg, breaks free, goes to the right chamber of the heart just as a patient is bearing down – called valsalva manuever- to allow enough pressure for the emboli to pass through septal defect to left chamber on, then still only 20% of this blood goes on to the brain) is very low. We may be looking at this from the wrong angle.
Studies have shown an increase in heart defects when a pregnant mom has increased oxidative stress. Maybe this is all just an inkling of the bigger picture that the migraine sufferer has been dealing with since he or she was in the womb. Either way, the migraine patient still needs to be viewed as a whole for full resolution of their headaches.