Migraine Surgery - Surgical Procedures - Patent Foramen Ovale Closure

Patent Foramen Ovale Closure

Several clinical trials are currently under way in an effort to determine the existence of a causal linkage between migraines and the presence of a patent foramen ovale (PFO), a hole between the upper chambers (the atria) of the heart. There is significant evidence that a link exists between migraine with aura and the presence of a PFO.

It is estimated that 20-25% of the general population in the United States has a PFO. Medical research studies have shown that migraineurs are twice as likely as the general population to have a PFO, that over 50% of sufferers of migraine with aura have a PFO, that patients with a PFO are 5.1 times more likely to suffer from migraines and 3.2 times more likely to have migraines with aura than the general population, and that patients with migraine with aura are much more likely to have a large opening than the general PFO population.