Some migraine sufferers at higher risk of heart attacks
A study of 25,000 women over 45 who suffer from migraines has shown that some are almost twice as likely to suffer a heart attack, reports The Telegraph.
Out of the participants there were 1,275 who experienced migraine with aura – very painful headaches, or seeing zig-zags or dot patterns, and carried certain genes, and over a period of 12 years 625 of these women suffered a stroke, heart attack, or both.
As a result, the study called for those thought to be at a higher risk to be monitored more, but stressed that those who do not carry the gene or have migraine aura are not at any higher risk.
Prof Peter Goadsby, from the University of California, San Francisco, and the Institute of Neurology, London said: “(This is) good news, as this represents about three-quarters of those affected by the disorder. Although the risk of cardiovascular disease is doubled in patients with active migraine with aura, it’s important to realise the risk is already small, and when you double a small risk you still have a small risk.”
