News Announcements

PLANO, Texas (July 23, 2007) -- A cardiac procedure that has been used to help patients avoid repeated life-threatening strokes may turn out to be a cure for some acute migraine sufferers as well.

The procedure, which is called a patent foramen ovale (PFO) closure, involves sealing off a flap-like opening between the upper two chambers of the heart that in three out of four people normally closes on its own within a year after birth.

“For most people with PFO, the condition causes no problem and goes untreated,” explained Srini Potluri, M.D., a cardiologist at Legacy Heart Center who has successfully conducted the procedure on some 70 patients.

“But for some, the PFO is thought to cause strokes and closing the PFO has helped to substantially reduce subsequent strokes,” he added. “Serendipitously, the procedure has also been shown to help some migraine sufferers.”

PFO closure is a non-surgical procedure in which a catheter is inserted into a blood vessel in the groin area and guided to the heart where an umbrella-like device is placed over the PFO.

Although there is no clinical proof that PFO closure works for migraine sufferers, several studies have shown a possible link between PFOs and migraines and several doctors—including Dr. Potluri—have reported that closing a PFO in patients with migraine headaches and a previous stroke has reduced the frequency and intensity of migraines.

Dr. Potluri noted that it is not clear why patients with a PFO would be more likely to have migraines, or how a PFO closure works to reduce them, but, he says, “I have seen direct evidence that it helps stroke victims and migraine sufferers. In fact several of the procedures I have performed were done exclusively to help migraine sufferers. These patients were in such severe pain that their neurologists referred them to me to perform the PFO closure and it worked.”

Dr. Potluri cited a study that was completed in England last year called MIST (Migraine Intervention with STARFlex® Technology) study, a double-blind study designed to evaluate the effect of PFO closure on migraines. The study showed that the procedure may be an effective way to treat certain types of migraines.

A MIST II study is underway in the United States and scheduled to be completed by the end of this year. In addition to MIST II, there are several other PFO/migraine studies underway, Dr. Potluri noted.

Until the research studies are completed sometime next year, the procedure remains “off-label” or not approved for curing migraines, Dr. Potluri noted and should only be performed in extreme circumstances.

For now, he recommends that patients who suffer from migraines and are interested in the procedure contact Legacy Heart Center for a referral to one of the ongoing trials.

Dr. Potluri specializes in carotid stenting and is one of Legacy Heart Center’s 15 cardiologists and more than 100 other health and administrative professionals. Legacy Heart Center, which is located at 6601 Preston Road in Plano, has been in operation for more than 20 years, and also treats patients at The Heart Hospital Baylor Plano, Baylor Regional Medical Center at Plano, Presbyterian Hospital of Plano and Medical Center of McKinney.