Migraine sufferers know what it’s like to get an attack of that terrible one-sided pulsating pain in the head along with other symptoms such as nausea sensitivity to light and smell, and vomiting. About one million people suffer from migraines worldwide and it has a considerable impact on their quality of life. Previous studies have shown an association between migraines and heart diseases, strokes and heart attacks especially among women but the link between migraine and other heart problems are unclear.
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To investigate this further, researchers from the Aarhus University Hospital, Denmark and Stanford University, USA examined the risk of various heart condition including heart attacks, stroke, peripheral artery disease (narrow arteries which reduce blood flow to limbs), blood clots and fast and irregular heart rates in people who suffer from migraine.
The researcher collected patient data from the Danish National Patient Registry for a period of 19 years from 1995 to 2003.
Researchers compared the data of 51,000 migraine sufferers with 510,000 people who were migraine free.
For every migraine sufferers the researchers matched them with ten migraine free people of the same age and gender.
71 percent of the participants were women and the average age for migraine diagnosis was 35 years.
The analysis of the data found that migraine was positively associated with heart attack, stroke, blood clots and irregular heart rate.
For every 1000 people, 25 patients with a migraine had a heart attack compared to 17 migraine free patients.
45 patients with a migraine had an ischemic attack (blood clot in the brain) compared to 25 migraine free patients.
The same results continued after accounting for other factor like smoking and body mass index.
However, no associations were found with peripheral artery disease or heart failure.
The associations, especially for stroke were stronger in the first year of diagnosis than over the longer term in patients who experienced migraine aura (warning signs before a migraine such as seeing flashing lights, vison loss or smelling things that aren’t there) than in patients who did not experience aura and in women than in men.
Researchers suggest that using anti-inflammatory drugs, which are associated with increased risk of heart problems, to treat migraines may increase the risk in migraine sufferers.
Immobilization of migraine attacks may also increase the risk of blood clots.
It is unclear what causes migraine and how it can affect cardiovascular health. Perhaps other factors such as physical activity can influence the results.
But a large study like this and long-term follow up gives us conclusive evidence that migraine attacks are related to our cardiovascular health and that’s why it’s important for healthcare professionals to consider treatment options for migraine sufferers which will also reduce the burden on cardiovascular health.
Migraines are truly one of the worst kind of headaches you can have and it can really disrupt your day. While there are medical treatments for migraines, making a few lifestyle changes like staying hydrated and getting enough exercise can help you reduce the influence migraine has on your life.
Source: BMJ
