Shunt-associated migraine responds favorably to atrial septal repair: a case-control study.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Transcatheter closure of patent foramen ovale (PFO) has been reported to improve migraine in patients with cerebrovascular disorders in noncontrolled studies. The aim of the study was to compare the course of migraine assessed prospectively over a 12-month period in symptomatic (for cerebrovascular disease) and asymptomatic patients undergoing PFO closure and in patients with PFO treated medically. METHODS Twenty-three stroke symptomatic (SS; 39+/-10 years of age; males/females [M/F] 5/18) and 27 stroke asymptomatic (SA; 40+/-12 years of age; M/F 5/22) patients with migraine underwent PFO closure. Twenty-seven patients with migraine and PFO (controls [CTRLS]; 36+/-11 years of age; M/F 4/23) were followed up medically. Migraine severity was assessed at baseline with a scale that takes into account the frequency, duration, and intensity of the attacks and the occurrence of aura (score range 0 to 10). Six months later, the patients were given a structured diary to annotate monthly with the same scale the characteristics of the attacks for the next 6 months. By the end of 1 year, the migraine score was averaged for the last 6 months. RESULTS Baseline severity of migraine did not differ between groups (6.3 to 6.1 and 6.7 in SS, SA, and CTRLS groups, respectively). At the 1-year assessment, the overall migraine score had significantly improved by 3.7 and 2.8 points in SS and SA, respectively (P<0.001 on repeated-measure ANOVA), whereas it had nonsignificantly worsened by 0.1 points in CTRLS. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that the improvement in SS and SA was independent of migraine type, age, and cerebrovascular risk factors. Twenty-one of 21 patients with migraine with aura in the CTRLS group still had aura at the end of follow-up, whereas only 3 of 14 among SA and 4 of 19 among SS continued to have migraine preceded by aura (P<0.0001 on Fisher exact test). CONCLUSIONS Compared with medical treatment, closure of PFO brings about a significant overall improvement in migraine. This seems to occur irrespective of migraine type and of previous cerebrovascular disease. In addition to the overall improvement, in migraine with aura, the occurrence of aura is dramatically reduced.