Migraines with Aura Increase Risk for Cardiovascular Disease in Women

An estimated 28 million Americans suffer from severe and disabling migraines, mostly women. Researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) have found that women aged 45 years and older who have migraines with aura-migraines associated with temporary visual disturbances or other neurological symptoms-are at an increased risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) including heart attack, ischaemic stroke, coronary revascularisation, angina and death due to ischaemic cardiovascular disease compared to women who do not suffer from migraines. These findings are published in the July 19 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

It is important to note, that this study also finds that migraine without aura, the most common form of migraine, is not associated with an increased risk of any cardiovascular event, said Tobias Kurth, MD, ScD, lead author of the study and researcher in the Division of Preventive Medicine at BWH. Our data show that there is no increased risk for CVD for the majority of migraine patients, he added.Researchers followed 27,840 participants from the Women’s Health Study over a period of 10 years. At study entry, a total of 5,125 reported any history of migraine headache. Of the 3,610 women who reported active migraine (migraine within the past year), 1,434 women also reported aura. During follow-up, 580 major CVD events occurred. After controlling for a large number of cardiovascular risk factors such as, alcohol consumption, smoking and cholesterol levels, researchers found that women who experienced active migraine with aura were approximately twice as likely to experience CVD compared to women who did not report any history of migraine. Women with migraine without aura did not have an increased risk for any adverse cardiovascular events.Although further research is needed to better understand the relationship between migraine, aura status, and cardiovascular events, women with migraine with aura should be alert for the presence of modifiable cardiovascular risk factors, such as smoking, hypertension, and hyperlipidaemia Kurth said. (Source: Journal of the American Medical Association: Bringham & Women’s Hospital: July 2006).