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        New Message Board Archives >> Medications, Treatments, Therapies 2004 >> Fresh Research - Heart/Lung & CH
        
(Message started by: floridian on Oct 15^th, 2004, 2:18pm)

Title: Fresh Research - Heart/Lung & CH
Post by floridian on Oct 15^th, 2004, 2:18pm

A "Right-to-Left Shunt" is an abnormality of the heart / lung system, often caused by a poorly working heart valve, trauma, or sudden severe blood pressure changes. They are about three times as common in cluster heads than in the general population, but less than half of all clusterheads have them.

Quote:

Neurology. 2004 Oct 12;63(7):1309-10.

Cluster headache and right-to-left shunt on contrast transcranial Doppler: a case-control study.

Finocchi C, Del Sette M, Angeli S, Rizzi D, Gandolfo C.

Department of Neuroscience, Ophthalmology and Genetics, University of Genova, Via De Toni, 5, 16132 Genova, Italy. cfinocchi@neurologia.unige.it

The authors evaluated the prevalence of right-to-left shunt in 40 subjects with cluster headache (CH) vs 40 subjects without primary headaches or cerebrovascular disease. The diagnosis of shunt was made by means of transcranial Doppler with contrast medium. A shunt was found in 17 CH patients (42.5%) and in 7 controls (17.5%) (p = 0.029; OR = 3.48; 95% CI = 1.13 to 10.69).

Title: Re: Fresh Research - Heart/Lung & CH
Post by floridian on Oct 23^rd, 2004, 9:33pm

Here's an explanation that is far easier to understand.

Quote:

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - New research suggests that cluster headache, a severe type of headache that usually begins around one eye, often occurs together with a heart defect called patent foramen ovale (PFO), in which blood can pass through a small hole from the right to the left side of the heart without going through the lungs first.

In the fetus, the hole (foramen ovale) is open, since blood does not need pass through the lungs to pick up oxygen while the baby is in the womb. After birth, the hole normally closes, but quite often this closure is incomplete. Since it is a small defect, people are often unaware that they have an open (patent) foramen ovale.

As reported in the medical journal Neurology, Dr. Cinzia Finocchi and colleagues, from the University of Genoa in Italy, used ultrasound to look for PFO in 40 people with cluster headache and 40 similar subjects without such headaches.

There was evidence of PFO in 17 patients with cluster headache compared with just 7 headache-free subjects. Having a cluster headache more than tripled the odds of having a PFO.

So, why do the two conditions often occur together? The reason is unclear, but it may relate to lower oxygen levels in the blood. With PFO, blood that bypasses lungs carries less oxygen than normal, and previous reports have suggested that poorly oxygenated blood may help induce cluster headaches.

Further studies are needed to better understand the association between cluster headache and PFO, the investigators conclude.

SOURCE: Neurology, October 12, 2004.

Title: Re: Fresh Research - Heart/Lung & CH
Post by kimh on Oct 24^th, 2004, 1:28am

i'm not sure i agree with the final analysis - the less than half thing............after all what "half" is this based upon????

i say we should look more!!!!!!!!!!!

Title: Re: Fresh Research - Heart/Lung & CH
Post by unsolved1 on Oct 24^th, 2004, 1:49am

Hey ... thats me .... leaky heart valve & high blood pressure ..... >:(

Unsolved

Title: Re: Fresh Research - Heart/Lung & CH
Post by kimh on Oct 24^th, 2004, 1:54am

no it is NOT leaky valve and high BP. It's something else. >:(KEEP LOOKING!

PS: Where in this thread do you see evidence regarding High BP????

btw: mine is ALWAYS LOW low and LOW. But that just goes back to the o2 circulationthing now don't it?????

FYI: while at ER for severe attack was told could not be administered pain med due to LOW BP = heart failure....

Title: Re: Fresh Research - Heart/Lung & CH
Post by Renee on Oct 24^th, 2004, 7:02am

Kim,

I have really low bp as well but when I get hit my bp skyrockets. E.R. said it was due to the extreme pain. I can even hear my heart beating in my ears.

Does your bp ALWAYS stay low during a hit ?

thump thump thump thump thump thump ;)

Title: Re: Fresh Research - Heart/Lung & CH
Post by yikes_another_one on Oct 24^th, 2004, 11:47am

That's what always made me confused aobut this.

they say stressincreasses bp

and my bp is nice and normal.

Infact during emergencies, I can meditate
and keep the bpm prtty low, (under 70 bpm)

I keep telling my doctors I am not a stressed out person
and they keep saying the Ch is for type A personalities.
(Which I am a turtle, not a rabbit....) so go figure

Title: Re: Fresh Research - Heart/Lung & CH
Post by Melissa on Oct 24^th, 2004, 11:49am

You know, I have always had normal BP 110/68 usually. It rarely goes up and when it does, it's due to trex usage or giving birth. I also was diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat when younger, but that has disappeared for the last 5-6 years.

Dunno what it all means, if it means anything at all... :-/

Title: Re: Fresh Research - Heart/Lung & CH
Post by floridian on Oct 24^th, 2004, 12:28pm

Irregular heart beat is common and could be due to many things - especially autonomic nervous system problems in people with CH. Caffeine and nicotine don't help either. By itself, the PFO is relatively benign and is usually not treated. It may be associated with increased risk of stroke or thrombosis, although this is not clear.

http://www.emedicine.com/med/topic1766.htm

Quote:

i'm not sure i agree with the final analysis - the less than half thing............after all what "half" is this based upon????

17 out of 40 CH patients had PFO (42.5%, less than half), versus 7 of 40 in the non-CH group. Other studies have estimated the occurence of PFO at 10-15% for the general public. This is probably just one factor that impairs oxygen transport and contributes to CH.

Title: Re: Fresh Research - Heart/Lung & CH
Post by Redd715 on Oct 24^th, 2004, 1:40pm

Very interesting.

Low BP, below normal body temp., and a slight "backwash" (ie:leaky) heartbeat, but nothing they were ever truely concerned about, thus no further investigation into what it is/was/could be.

Very very interesting indeed.

Title: Re: Fresh Research - Heart/Lung & CH
Post by Kris_in_SJ on Oct 24^th, 2004, 8:25pm

Guess I'm in that lower half bracket. Had an echocardiogram a few years ago after a virus left me with pericarditis - nothing abnormal at all.

Let's keep looking ....

Kris

Title: Re: Fresh Research - Heart/Lung & CH
Post by floridian on Oct 26^th, 2004, 8:53am

The PFO heart condition can be inherited, and is also linked to migraines.

Quote:

Heart. 2004 Nov;90(11):1315-20.

Inheritance of persistent foramen ovale and atrial septal defects and the relation to familial migraine with aura.

Wilmshurst PT, Pearson MJ, Nightingale S, Walsh KP, Morrison WL.

The Royal Shrewsbury Hospital, Shrewsbury SY3 8XQ, UK. peter.wilmshurst@rsh.nhs.uk

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether smaller atrial shunts (large persistent foramen ovale (PFO) and small atrial septal defect (ASD)) are inherited and whether this has a role in the inheritance of migraine with aura. METHODS: Contrast echocardiography was used to detect atrial shunts in 71 relatives of 20 probands with a significantly sized atrial shunt (large PFO or ASD). Four families with three generations, 14 families with two generations, and two sibships were studied. The contrast echocardiograms were performed blind to history of migraine. A consultant neurologist, who was blinded to cardiac findings, categorised migraine symptoms in subjects. RESULTS: The occurrence of atrial shunts was consistent with autosomal dominant inheritance. Usually shunts were large PFOs, but in some cases they were ASDs. There was also evidence that inheritance of more complex congenital heart disease may be related to the inheritance of PFOs. When the proband had migraine with aura and an atrial shunt, 15 of the 21(71.4%) first degree relatives with a significant right to left shunt also had migraine with aura compared with three of 14 (21.4%) without a significant shunt (p < 0.02). CONCLUSIONS: There is dominant inheritance of atrial shunts. This is linked to inheritance of migraine with aura in some families.