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– Migraines? It may be your heart!
October 5, 2006
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 August 24, 2005, is a day 62-year-old St. Joseph resident Carl Sparks will never forget. For the first time in 48 years, he woke up without a migraine or headache. What’s even more remarkable is that his migraine relief was delivered via Frank Lammoglia, MD, a cardiologist.
Sparks had a condition known as patent foramen ovale (PFO), also known as a hole in the heart. A PFO is a hole in the wall (septum) that divides the right and left atrium (chambers) of the heart. We all have a PFO during fetal development, but it usually closes after birth. A PFO can allow blood that hasn’t been oxygenated by the lungs to get into the left side of the heart, thus being pumped to the brain and other organs. If this happens, the body doesn’t get enough oxygen.
For those who have never had a migraine, consider yourself lucky. Starting at age 13, Sparks recalls week-long migraine episodes of excruciating pain and vomiting. “I can remember losing 25 pounds each time I had a migraine,” adds Sparks.
Then approximately 25 — 30 years ago, the episodes changed to a chronic headache that never completely went away. However, it wasn’t for a lack of trying.
At age 15, Sparks went to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. However, the migraines continued. What followed next were years of different medications and specialists. “I’ve taken a gazillion different drugs. If a drug did work, it usually only lasted three months,” says Sparks. He even went to the world-renowned Diamond Headache Clinic in Chicago, Ill., … still no long-term relief.
“We even considered moving, thinking that another climate with fewer weather changes could offer some relief,” says Doris Sparks, Carl’s wife of 34 years and a registered nurse.
Just when Sparks thought he had tried everything under the sun to stop the pain, a friend told him about the PFO and migraine connection. He soon conducted his own research. He scheduled a visit with Dr. Lammoglia and was diagnosed with PFO. Could the PFO be the cause of the pain? Sparks was willing to try anything and Dr. Lammoglia performed the outpatient procedure to close the hole in his heart — August 24, 2005. Sparks has been migraine-free ever since.
“I can’t believe an hour and a half surgery could take care of the problem. Now if I get a headache, I can take a few aspirin like everyone else does and call it good. It is a miracle,” adds Sparks.
“It’s an exciting, new application. As with a lot of things in medicine, something designed for one thing turns out to be very good, if not better, for something else. That is what the preliminary studies show,” says Dr. Lammoglia.
So what advice does Sparks offer to other migraine sufferers? “I’ve talked to everyone I know with migraines to tell them to at least get checked (for PFO). It’s another option,” concludes Sparks.
Dr. Lammoglia of Heartland Cardiovascular Consultants is the only cardiologist in St. Joseph to perform this procedure. For additional information, please talk with your doctor.
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