Do migraines and heart defects go hand-in-hand. Researchers say they might, especially for children.
A lot of children suffer from migraines and it looks like some of these migraines might be caused by a common heart defect---one that someone might have and not even know it.
Right now, it's estimated that 15% of children have migraine headaches. About 1/3 of them have what are called auras with these headaches. Auras are a type of early warning migraine sufferers get letting them know the headache is about to start. It's usually includes visual disturbances, like flashing lights, but can also be weakness or even hallucinations.
Well, researchers just discovered that in the children they examined with aura type migraines, 1/2 of them had a hole in their heart known as a patent foramen ovale or PFO. This PFO heart defect is much more common than you'd think and in fact about 1-out-of-4 of us has it and will never know. It's not usually a problem and people live normal lives with it, but if it is associated with a migraine, researchers feel repairing that hole might help get rid of the migraines as well. Stay tuned for future studies on this.
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