Ischemic Stroke Risk in Men and Women With Migraines

Women and men who suffer from migraine headaches are both at increased risk of having an ischemic stroke, but women may also be at increased risk of heart attack and hemorrhagic stroke, according to a new study led by Cecilia Hvitfeldt Fuglsang of Aarhus University in Denmark and published June 13 in the open access journal PLOS Medicine.

Migraine sufferers are thought to be at a higher risk of having a heart attack or stroke before the age of 60. Previous research has revealed that young women are at a higher risk of having an ischemic stroke, which occurs when a blood clot clogs a blood vessel to the brain. The new study sought to determine whether women with migraine have a higher risk of heart attack and hemorrhagic stroke (when an artery in the brain breaks) than males.

Hvitfeldt Fuglsang’s team conducted a statewide examination of Danish medical records collected from adults aged 18 to 60 from 1996 to 2018. Based on prescription drug data, they identified men and women with migraine and compared their risk of a heart attack and ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke before the age of 60 to the risks encountered by those in the general population who did not have migraine.

In contrast to previous findings, the study found that both men and women with migraine had an elevated risk of ischemic stroke. Women with migraine, on the other hand, may have a slightly increased risk of heart attack and hemorrhagic stroke than men with migraine and the overall population.

Overall, the findings imply that migraine affects women more severely, which is not surprising given that the disorder is most commonly diagnosed in women. The researchers note out that because they employed prescription drug records to identify migraine patients, they may have missed untreated individuals, resulting in an underestimating of migraine’s contribution to these health concerns. Because heart attacks and strokes can result in life-long disability or even death, the researchers say that identifying people at high risk is critical in order to permit targeted preventative therapies.

Hvitfeldt Fuglsang adds, “Migraine was associated with a similarly increased risk of ischemic stroke among young men and women. However, migraine may be associated with an increased risk of myocardial infarction and hemorrhagic stroke only among women.”

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