Clusterheadaches.com Message Board


    
      
        Clusterheadaches.com Message Board
        (http://www.clusterheadaches.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi)
      

        New Message Board Archives >> 2005 Cluster Headache Specific Posts >> PFO and clusters-now heart defects?
        
(Message started by: pattik on Jan 30^th, 2005, 1:13pm)

Title: PFO and clusters-now heart defects?
Post by pattik on Jan 30^th, 2005, 1:13pm

Newer medical news reports some association between PFO
(a fairly commen heart defect) and migraines and clusters. Maybe there will be more research (and soon) which can bring some new hope to all of us. Anyone have new info on this? Here is a link to check out; http://www.heartcenteronline.com/myheartdr/home/research-detail.cfm?reutersid=4799

Title: Re: PFO and clusters-now heart defects?
Post by clarence on Jan 30^th, 2005, 5:23pm

thanks for the research. Always looking for new stuff. I do believe that floridian posted something about this a few months back. you could probably find that post by searching the archives.

Thanks again,
Casey

Title: Re: PFO and clusters-now heart defects?
Post by PrettyH8Machine on Jan 30^th, 2005, 7:49pm

I posted a few years ago about my hypothesis that quite possibly the head could be suffering the symptom of a problem eslewhere in the body, thus the reason they cannot find the direct cause to Cluster Headaches. My reasoning of maybe a minor heart defect is because the heart is the pump for the blood carried throughout the body. What if there were some defect that couldn't be detected with an EKG and that was why it couldn't be found?

Alleyoop first posted the discovery of the Patent Foramen Ovale back in October of last year. It lead me back to my belief of years gone by. I had talked with a few clusterheads at the Nashville Cluster Convention last year about my theory, but the only question I couldn't figure out was, Why does oxygen affect clusters and work to abort attacks in most people? That was a question raised by Cathi I believe. The leaking of ventricles bypassing the lungs COULD BE the key.

How wonderful if within a few years, they can do a minor heart surgery to fix the problem - thus ending Cluster Headaches?

I say this discovery gives us alot of hope.

Peace,
CD

Title: Re: PFO and clusters-now heart defects?
Post by catlind on Jan 30^th, 2005, 9:08pm

I think Floridian may have posted some info on this awhile back.

Interestingly enough, I have a very mild mitral valve and tricuspid valve prolapse, with mild regurgitation. I've had palpitations (diagnosed at least) since I was 16, and a diagnosis of coronary artery spasms.

Question for me is, is the heart defect a problem that brought on clusters, or did the prolapses result from the mismanagement and mistreatment of the clusters. Prolapse wasn't there before (that I am aware of)

Chicken and the egg for me.

Cat

Title: Re: PFO and clusters-now heart defects?
Post by floridian on Jan 31^st, 2005, 8:37am

I think about 15-20% of the general population has the PFO heart problem (generally mild and undiagnosed) while for cluster heads, that number is double (around 40%). Which means that most clusterheads don't have PFO, and that very few people with PFO have clusters.

PFO, mitral valve, and several other disorders that seem to be more frequent among clusterheads have one thing in common - they impair circulation and oxygenation. DJ (our fearless leader and bulletin board organizer) had moyamoya disease that restricts blood flow to the brain - when he got surgery, the headaches stopped. A few other people have gone on anticoagulant drugs, and saw some improvement (the same thing has been seen in some migraine patients).

Title: Re: PFO and clusters-now heart defects?
Post by JJA on Jan 31^st, 2005, 3:01pm

on 01/31/05 at 08:37:10, floridian wrote:

DJ (our fearless leader and bulletin board organizer) had moyamoya disease that restricts blood flow to the brain - when he got surgery, the headaches stopped.

OK, so I said I couldn't find any reports of episodic behavior with carotid occlusion (in the FR - Cluster Impersonators thread). From what I read (today) moyamoya is essentially carotid occlusion. Of course there's no proof that moyamoya caused or at least contributed to DJ's episodic CH, but it sure looks that way. Hmmm

Title: Re: PFO and clusters-now heart defects?
Post by Margi on Jan 31^st, 2005, 3:14pm

Good point, Floridian. Yet more reason why we push people here to get a correct diagnosis when we see symptoms that are not parallel with the cluster description.
I had a lady writing to me last year with questions and it turned out she had a condition that, had she taken the imitrex the idiot doctor had prescribed her, it could have very well caused her death. And people wonder why we are militant here? ::)

Title: Re: PFO and clusters-now heart defects?
Post by catlind on Jan 31^st, 2005, 11:49pm

Very good point. There was a lady at Ft. Drum (we were stationed there before Omaha) that was diagnosed with migraines/clusters. Apparently, because of me (I was such a pain in their ass with insisting on getting proper care) they decided they should pay more attention to this thing called cluster headaches.

Well they told her she had migraines first, she went back to the ER that night, then to the doc again the next day - because she had 4 seperate headache attacks, they decided she had clusters. No neuro referral, no investigative testing.... they sent her on her way with a few prescriptions, one of them being ibuprofen.

That day, she called her hubby at work, and told him what the doctors said. That night after work, her hubby came home, and she was dead. She had an aneurism.

MAKE the doctors do all the testing, MAKE them rule out everything, do not accept a CH diagnosis without making sure, and do not accept any other diagnosis without making sure.

Your life depends on it.

Cat