Children who suffer from migraine with aura may be twice as likely to have a common congenital heart defect, according to a new study published in the Journal of Pediatrics. Nearly 50% of children who had migraine with aura also had a defect called patent foramen ovale (PFO)—essentially a small hole in the heart. This is nearly double the rate in the general population. Only 27% of children who had migraine without aura had the heart defect.
“These data suggest that PFO may contribute to the [cause] of migraine with aura in children and have implications for clinical decision making,” said lead author Rachel T. McCandless, MD, in the study’s conclusion.
Researchers examined 109 children ages 6 to 18 who were diagnosed with migraine by pediatric neurologists at the Primary Children’s Medical Center in Salt Lake City between February 2008 and September 2009.
The relationship between migraine and PFO is not fully understood, but if PFO does contribute to migraines, health care professionals might be able to treat affected children with a simple catheter device.
