A hole between the left and the right side of the heart has been suspected to be the cause of migraines in some people. However, closing this hole has not produced dramatic improvement in several blinded studies that have been conducted in the past few years.
The hole, called atrial septal defect (ASD) is present in utero but begins to close as soon as the baby is born. In about 1.5% of the population (in twice as many women than men) the hole does not close completely. In most people this hole is small and does not cause any symptoms. However, if it is big, it requires intervention because it can lead to heart failure and strokes. Smaller ASD may not cause any symptoms, but has been suspected to be related to migraine headaches, especially migraines preceded by a visual aura.
The closure of ASD is done by threading up through a vein in the groin an umbrella-like device which is positioned and opened inside the heart to close the hole. A recent study looked at the need for different blood thinners to prevent blood clots from forming in the heart after the procedure. Half of the 171 migraine patients in the study were given aspirin and placebo and the other half aspirin and clopidogrel, another blood thinner. Interestingly, those who were given two blood thinners (aspirin and clopidogrel) had less severe migraine attacks than those on one (aspirin and placebo). This suggests, that the benefit seen in some of the previous ASD closure studies was due to the blood thinner rather than the procedure itself.
A trial currently under way at the Columbia University Medical Center is examining whether a different blood thinner, Brilinta will improve migraines in those with an ASD. If you’d like to consider participating and want to learn more about the study, go to this website.
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