Migraine
The migraine results also indicated that there was no increased risk of stroke associated with overall migraine and migraines without aura or non-migraine headache, according to lead study author Tobias Kurth, MD, ScD of the Division of Preventive Medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital at Harvard Medical School.
Previous retrospective studies have produced mixed results on the effect of headache and migraine on risk for stroke.
To gain further insight into this question, Dr. Kurth and colleagues performed a prospective analysis of almost 40,000 women enrolled in the Women's Health Study, an ongoing trial examining the effects of aspirin and vitamin E on cardiovascular disease and cancer.
During an average of 9 years of follow-up, women who had migraine with aura had a 50 percent increased risk for total stroke and a 70 percent increased risk for ischemic stroke, compared to women without migraine. The risk was higher in women under 55 years of age. There was no increased risk for women who had migraine without aura, or non-migraine headache.
Aura is a sensory phenomenon that may precede the onset of migraine. Ischemic stroke is due to loss of blood supply to part of the brain. Both are neurovascular conditions, but the mechanism by which aura might influence ischemic stroke is still not resolved.
Cholesterol
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Contact: Kathy Stone
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American Academy of Neurology
26-Apr-2004