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Women with migraines have a high risk of heart attacks and strokes
Migraine is a neurological disorder that is especially common in women. Diseased people complain of periodically recurring severe headaches. Researchers have now found that women suffering from migraine also have a slightly higher risk of heart disease and stroke.
Scientists from the Charite-Universitatsmedizin in Berlin have now found in an investigation that women who suffer from migraines have an increased risk of developing heart disease and strokes. The experts published the results of their study in the journal "British Medical Journal".
When people suffer from migraine, the pain is usually unbearable. Even worse, however, may be the effects of migraine on our later lives. Women with migraines are at an increased risk of developing heart attacks and strokes. (Image: Kurhan / fotolia.com) Migraine is a marker of increased risk of cardiovascular disease
Migraine should be considered as a marker of increased risk of cardiovascular disease, at least in women, says lead researcher Professor Tobias Kurth of the Charité in Berlin. The results of the study can not prove that migraine causes heart attacks or strokes, they merely show that the likelihood of such diseases is increasing. In addition, the effects could also affect men. There is no reason to assume that this effect only affects women, explains Professor Kurth.
The effects of migraine:
In migraine, there is a periodic, seizure-like, pulsatile and half-sided headache. This is often accompanied by nausea, vomiting and sensitivity to light and noise, explain the physicians. In some patients, a migraine attack is preceded by a so-called migraine aura, during which, in particular, visual or sensory perceptual disturbances occur. In addition, motor disturbances are possible. Migraine has previously been associated with an increased risk of stroke. The new results now show an increased risk of strokes and heart attacks, the experts add.
The study examined more than 116,000 women in the United States
Doctors should be aware of the link between migraine and certain cardiovascular diseases to properly assess the risk for migraine-stricken women, says Professor Kurth. For the new study, researchers analyzed data from more than 116,000 women in the United States. The subjects were part of the so-called Health Study II. At the beginning of the study, the participating women were aged 25 to 42 years and suffered from no heart disease, the researchers explain. The physicians examined the subjects from the year 1989 to the year 2011.
Migraine in women increases the likelihood of death from heart attack or stroke
At baseline, about 15 percent of women had migraine. During the follow-up investigation over 20 years, more than 1,300 women suffered a heart attack or a stroke, the researchers say. 223 women even died on one of these conditions, explain the physicians on. Compared to women who never suffered from migraine, women with migraine had a 50 percent increased risk of heart attack or stroke. Women with migraine had a 39 percent increased risk of heart attack, a 62 percent increased risk of stroke, and a 73 percent increased risk of eventual need for heart surgery, explains Professor Kurth. In addition, such women have a 37 percent chance of premature death from a heart attack or stroke.
Measures must be taken to reduce the risks of migraine
According to the researchers, migraine should be added to the list of known risk factors for heart disease. The problem with this is that migraine can usually occur early in life and cardiovascular diseases usually show up later in life. It is important to ensure that we evaluate the cardiovascular risk in migraine-bearing women and reduce the risk they present, for example through regular exercise, counseling, and blood pressure monitoring, the physicians explain. (As)