Prevalence of patent foramen ovale in migraine patients with and without aura compared with stroke patients. A transcranial Doppler study

Authors: Carod-Artal, FJ; da Silveira Ribeiro, L; Braga, H; Kummer, W; Mesquita, HM; Vargas, AP

Source: Cephalalgia, Volume 26, Number 8, August 2006 , pp. 934-939(6)

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Abstract:

Carod-Artal FJ, da Silveira Ribeiro L, Braga H, Kummer W, Mesquita HM & Vargas AP. Prevalence of patent foramen ovale in migraine patients with and without aura compared with stroke patients. A transcranial Doppler study. Cephalalgia 2006; 26:934-939. London. ISSN 0333-1024

The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of patent foramen ovale (PFO) in a consecutive unselected cohort of migraine patients (with and without aura) and compare it with a group of ischaemic young and elderly stroke patients. One hundred and forty-one migraine patients were compared with 330 stroke patients (130 young patients; 200 elderly patients) selected from our hospital stroke data bank. PFO was assessed with transcranial Doppler sonography with i.v. injection of agitated saline. The prevalence of PFO was 51.7% in migraine with aura (MA) patients, 33.7% in migraine without aura (MoA) patients, 33.8% in young stroke patients and 20.5% in elderly stroke patients (P < 0.001). The prevalence of PFO in cryptogenic stroke in young and elderly stroke patients was, respectively, 41.1% and 25% (P = 0.04). The difference between MA and MoA patients was significant (odds ratio = 2.1). The prevalence of PFO in MA patients is higher than in MoA patients and in young cryptogenic stroke patients.

Keywords: Aura; migraine; patent foramen ovale; stroke; transcranial Doppler

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2982.2006.01156.x

Publication date: 2006-08-01