研究人員發現：有偏頭痛病史的腦卒中患者，為了治療一種常見的叫做先天性動脈導管未閉的心臟缺陷，接受閉合手術之后，他們的偏頭痛發作就會停止或者顯著減輕。

PFO是心臟的一個小孔，在胚胎發育過程中是正常的，胚胎血供是由母親肺臟氧化和供給的。盡管這個孔通常在出生后閉合，但是在人群中大約有25％這個孔沒有徹底閉合，因此在成人期間PFO持續存在。這增加了本來應當循環經過肺臟的靜脈血通過未成熟的動脈導管流到動脈的機會，在循環流過肺臟之前，被泵回動脈循環然后流入大腦。這種循環流入大腦的未濾過靜脈血被推測觸發了偏頭痛的發作。

這項研究顯示：患先兆偏頭痛的患者具有PFO的幾率是普通人群的兩倍。在為期2年的研究中，研究人員檢查了162例患無法解釋的腦卒中樣癥狀的患者。使用經顱超聲檢查系統證實了高度PFO之后，所有患者接受了導管PFO保護手術。1年的隨訪顯示：56％患者偏頭痛癥狀徹底消失，而14%患者聲稱偏頭痛發作頻率顯著下降。

這項研究是由心臟病學家Mark Reisman醫生(Swedish Medical Center, Seattle, WA, USA)主持的， 發表在2005年2月15日的《美國心臟病學院期刊》。
 
Procedure for Stroke Patients With Migraine
 
Researchers have found that stroke patients with a history of migraine headaches have had their migraines stopped or significantly reduced following a closure procedure of a common heart defect called patent foramen ovale (PFO).

PFO is a small hole in the heart, whose presence is normal during fetal development when the fetal blood supply is being enriched and oxygenated by the mother’s lungs. Although the hole usually closes shortly after birth, in about 25% of the population it fails to close completely and becomes a persistent PFO into adulthood. This opens up an opportunity for venous blood circulating through the lungs to cross over to the arterial side prematurely, before circulating through the lungs, and then to be pumped back into the arterial circulation and the brain. This unfiltered venous blood circulating in the brain is suspected of sparking a migraine.

The study showed that patients suffering from migraines with aura are twice as likely to have a PFO, compared to the general population. During a two-year period, researchers examined 162 patients who had experienced unexplained stroke-like symptoms. After confirming the presence of a high-grade PFO using a transcranial ultrasound system, all patients underwent transcatheter closure of the PFO. A one-year followup showed that 56% had complete resolution of migraine symptoms, while 14% reported a significant reduction in migraine frequency.

The study, led by cardiologist Dr. Mark Reisman (Swedish Medical Center, Seattle, WA, USA), was published in the February 15, 2005, issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.