Migraine heart attack and stroke risk increased

Migraine: Increased risk of heart attack and stroke: According to a study by American doctors, migraine patients are at greater risk for diseases of the vessels and the heart.

Researchers led by Professor Richard B. Lipton, Director of the Department of Aging and Dementia at the Einstein College of Medicine in New York, have now published their study in the journal „Neurology“ the American Academy of Neurology.

They had examined a total of 6102 migraineurs and a control group of 5243 people. They found that the risk of heart attack doubled from two to four percent for those affected. In migraine sufferers who still describe the occurrence of a so-called aura in their headache attacks, the possibility of a stroke should increase by 60 percent. The possible illnesses high blood pressure, diabetes and a raised cholesterol increase with a probability of 50 per cent.

About 10 percent of the population suffer from migraine, three times as often as men. It has long been assumed in migraine that it is a disturbance of the wide and narrow position of the vessels in the head. Many sufferers complain about the seizures after eating certain foods. As the number of migraine sufferers continues to increase in recent decades, relationships with our lifestyle and the environment are established.

If „normal“ In the acute case, so-called triptans are frequently used in migraine sufferers. The triptans narrow the blood vessels in the brain and also inhibit inflammation and pain reactions. Here, the researchers now want to continue to make studies, if therapies for migraine then reduce the risk for diseases of the heart and vessels.

In practice, this means for physicians that migraine should no longer be seen as a restrictive pain attack, but as a disease. In migraine patients, the vascular system and the heart must also be examined and controlled in the future. (Thorsten Fischer, Naturopath Osteopathy, 10.02.2010)

To read more:
Study of researchers in „Neurology“
High blood pressure (hypertension)