Study migraine can be a harbinger of heart attacks and strokes

Increases migraine risk for life-threatening diseases?

Migraine in itself is already a heavy burden for the affected people. Researchers have now found that migraine is also associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular problems such as heart attack, stroke, blood clots and irregular heart rate.

The researchers from Aarhus University Hospital in Denmark and Stanford University in the US found in their study that migraine should be considered a potent and persistent risk factor for most cardiovascular diseases in both men and women. The physicians published the results of their study in the English-language journal "British Medical Journal".

When people suffer from migraine, the pain is usually unbearable. In addition, migraine seems to increase the risk of having a heart attack or stroke. (Image: Kurhan / fotolia.com)

One billion people in the world suffer from migraines

According to the new study, around one billion people worldwide are affected by migraine. The disease has a massive impact on the quality of life of sufferers and burdens society considerably. Previous studies have already suggested an association between migraine and strokes and heart attacks, especially in women. Thus, women with migraine show a high risk of heart attacks and strokes.

The researchers collected medical data for 19 years for their investigation

For the current research, the researchers collected patient data from the Danish National Patient Registry over a 19-year period - from 1995 to 2013. The experts compared the results of more than 51,000 people diagnosed with migraine with over 510,000 people free of migraine were. For each person with migraine, ten people of the same age and sex, who did not suffer from migraine, were examined. The median age for the diagnosis of migraine was 35 years and 71 percent of the study participants were women.

How did the migraine affect the patients??

Over the 19-year study period, the researchers found that migraine was positively associated with the onset of heart attack, stroke, blood clots, and irregular heart rate. For example, 25 patients with migraines per 1,000 patients had a heart attack. In patients without migraine, there were only 17 patients. Forty-five patients from 1,000 participants with migraine suffered from a so-called ischemic stroke during the study (blood clots in the brain). For non-migraine patients, there were only 25 patients compared.

Women are affected more often than men

The established relationships also existed after taking into account the so-called body mass index (BMI) and smoking. No meaningful association was found with peripheral arterial disease or heart failure, the researchers explain. Associations, especially in strokes, were more severe in the first year of diagnosis in patients with so-called migraineuras (warning signs of migraine) compared with patients without such aura. In addition, they were more common in women than in men.

Unknown factors could influence the results

The study is an observational study. For this reason, no clear conclusions about cause and effect can be made. The study authors can not rule out the possibility that other previously unknown factors, such as physical activity, could have influenced the results. However, the main strengths of the study were a large sample of samples and the long-term follow-up.

Patients with migraine should take anticoagulants?

Current guidelines for dealing with migraines do not recommend the use of anticoagulants (such as aspirin) to treat the condition. Physicians speculate, however, whether patients with a particularly high risk of heart disease would benefit from the treatment with so-called anticoagulant (anticoagulant).

Migraine seems to be a persistent risk factor for cardiovascular disease

Migraine should be considered as a potent and consistent risk factor for most cardiovascular diseases, the researchers explain. There is now much evidence that migraine should be taken seriously as a strong cardiovascular risk marker, say the authors. Measures to reduce risk are long overdue, but unfortunately, the funding of research into migraine has been seriously neglected, add the physicians. (As)