Question: Exertional headaches? Heart issues in family?
Answer:
Full Question:
Hi. I think my 15 yr old son is experiencing
'exertion headaches.' He recently joined the fencing team and started exercising
regularly. He is a bit chunky, 5'8, 230 lbs-but he is VERY solid and quite
muscular, not flabby. What happens is when he is lifting weights and when he was
jumping rope and once while hopping up and down on one foot-he gets a sudden
severe pain in between his left eye and ear. It lasts about ten minutes after
stopping the exercise. It seems to fit the classic example of the exertion
headache. Here's what my real worry is: physically he strongly favors my side of
the family and within the last 6 months my (seemingly) completely healthy and
fit 42 yr old brother suffered a sudden cardiac death episode. Luckily it was
w/in 10 ft of a defibrillator and an EMT was standing behind him and he survived
and actually completely recovered (w/ an implanted defibrillator). It was the
kind of defibrillation that occurs in healthy people; my brother's arteries,
after a an angiogram, were 100% clear. A bit of research reveals that this has
been a common cause of death on the paternal side of my family. (cousins of my
father and his father-my grandfather- died in such a way-all in their early
40's). Can these headaches indicate that my son may also one day experience
sudden cardiac death? I understand it is hard to predict this. What kind of
doctor should my son see? A headache doctor or a cardiologist? Should I not even
bother as the victims of this disease in my family were all in their forties and
after all, we're talking about a few ten minute headaches? Any guidance will be
greatly appreciated and seriously considered. Thank you, Maria
Answer:
Dear Maria;
Headaches such as these should always be checked out by a doctor, even if you think you know the cause. They may indeed be exertional headaches, but you won't know until your son is checked out by a doctor. If they are exertional headaches, the doctor may be able to recommend a way to prevent them.
As for the familial heart issue, that's definitely something to bring up to your son's doctor so he can be monitored for any potential cardiac problems. Start with your family doctor and see if he thinks your son should be seeing any specialists. Unless the headaches are somehow related to his heart, we're probably talking about a different specialist for each problem.
Good luck,
Teri Robert and John Claude Krusz
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Published January 9, 2006
