title: The persistent foramen ovale and migraine.
abstract: There is association between migraine, particularly migraine with aura, and large persistent foramen ovale (PFO) and other right-to-left shunts. Migraine is often improved by closure of a PFO in patients who have a large shunt. Inheritance of migraine is linked to the inheritance of large atrial shunts in some families. The data indicate that in some patients PFOs play a causal role in migraine with aura. These observations may also improve understanding of the etiology of migraine in patients who do not have a shunt.
authors.affiliation: The Royal Shrewsbury Hospital, Shrewsbury, United-Kingdom. peter.wilmshurst@rsh.nhs.uk
authors.forename: P T
authors.initials: PT
authors.lastname: Wilmshurst
mesh_terms: D003665:Decompression Sickness / Q000209:etiology; D006344:Heart Septal Defects, Atrial / Q000150:complications* / Q000235:genetics / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D008881:Migraine Disorders / Q000209:etiology* / Q000235:genetics; D014656:Vascular Surgical Procedures