Migraine PFO Closure
Added: (Thu Mar 30 2006)
Pressbox (Press Release) -
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The �� Migraine Intervention with Starflex�� Technology (MIST) Trial presented to The American College of Cardiology show trends to suggest that Patent Foramen Ovale (PFO) closure may be an effective way to treat certain types of migraine(aura) Closure of PFO in patients suffering from migraine with aura helps reduce the frequency and severity of migraine attacks. There is a 42% reduction in headache days and a 37% reduction in headache burden in those who had the PFO closed in the MIST study.
Studies indicate that closing a hole in the heart may effectively treat cases of severe migraine. This treatment is undertaken at The Priory Hospital, Edgbaston Birmingham by Dr Jo DeGiovanni and Dr Paul Clift, Consultant Cardiologists both of whom have extensive experience in performing the procedure and were both involved in the MIST trial.
Migraine is a great deal more than just a headache; it is the most common neurological condition in the developed world. It affects over 15% of the UK population and is more prevalent than diabetes, epilepsy and asthma combined.
Migraine headaches are characterised by a ��throbbing�� type of pain on one side of the head. The pain of a migraine attack is often severe, caused by the dilating of blood vessels, which then draw together, stimulating nerve endings near the affected blood vessels. Some minutes before the attack the patient may experience an ��aura�� which causes sensitivity to bright light and noise, as well as
nausea, vomiting and lack of energy. The headache may last for hours or even days.
The link between migraine headaches and PFO was found recently in patients with stroke and PFO who were suffering from migraine headaches. Having undergone PFO closure many reported a dramatic reduction in attacks.
The link was also discovered in scuba divers with PFO, susceptible to decompression sickness. Surgeons fixing heart defects in some professional divers as a preventative measure against decompression sickness noted that their migraines had disappeared.4
Everyone is born with a tiny hole in the heart. The hole closes shortly after birth forming a seal between the left and right sides of the heart. If the hole remains open unfiltered blood passes through the hole without first passing through the protective filter of the lungs. This lack of blood filter in some cases may cause a stroke, or may result in migraines. The closure of the PFO reduces the risk of stroke and migraine.
��Migraine with aura is a severely debilitating condition, the MIST study has provided objective data supporting closure of PFO��s in patients with migraine with aura, with significant reduction in their symptoms. This treatment provides significant relief of symptoms for many migraine sufferers and offers hope for a long suffering group of patients�� Dr P Clift, Consultant Cardiologist
Screening for PFO migraine, and the PFO closure procedure is undertaken at the Priory Hospital, Edgbaston Birmingham. www.bmihealthcare.co.uk/priory
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- contact:-
Jan Lee, Business Development Manager,
The Priory Hospital, Priory Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham B5 7UG
0121 446 1826
-Notes to editors:-
For further in formation contact Jan Lee, Business Development Manager at the Priory Hospital on 0121 446 1826 (alternative contact: secretary 0121 446 1825)
The Priory Hospital is part of BMI Healthcare, a group of 49 acute care private patient hospitals around the United Kingdom with over 2,400 beds. Handling over 250,000 inpatient and 750,000 outpatient visits each year, nearly half of the procedures undertaken for patients are of a major or complex nature.
As a matter of policy, BMI Healthcare hospitals undertake all of their work to at least the standards set under relevant regulations and guidelines, which are at least the same standards as those required of the NHS. Each hospital has an experienced doctor on-site 24 hours a day to support patient care and a fully qualified nursing, clinical and support team plus diagnostic and treatment technology relevant to the patient procedures undertaken.
BMI Healthcare hospitals work together with the NHS locally to provide added value patient care in a partnership approach that includes sharing facilities and equipment, undertaking operations under contract and providing ten private hospitals and private wings within the grounds of NHS Trust hospitals. Those services to the NHS use the limited capacity available after meeting the needs of the hospitals�� primary audience - private patients and their consultants - up to 10% of patient volume.
A separate division - Amicus Healthcare - has been established to meet the specific needs of public health sector patient contracts and in the future will have its own separate staff teams working in dedicated facilities.