Regular migraine a stroke hazard

by Kirrilly Burton Young women who suffer from migraines with visual auras are at increased risk of ischaemic stroke, new research confirms. A US study found women aged 15-49 with probable migraine with visual aura (PMVA) had a 1.5 times higher risk of stroke than did women free of migraines. The risk was particularly high in the year after women first developed PMVA. A sub-group analysis revealed risk of PMVA-associated stroke was greatest in women who had no history of hypertension, diabetes or myocardial infarction. In addition, women with the condition who smoked and used oral contraceptives had a seven times greater risk of stroke, the researchers found (<CharStyle:em>Stroke<CharStyle:>, online 9 August). Researchers matched 386 women who had been hospitalised for a first stroke with 614 healthy controls. Subjects were administered questionnaires on headache symptoms and classified as having no migraine, probable migraine with visual aura or without visual aura. The authors found women who reported experiencing more than 12 migraine with visual aura episodes a year had a significantly higher risk of stroke versus those with no migraine history. "These findings are consistent with previous reports of increased migraine frequency as a risk factor for clinically recognised stroke," they said.  "The association of smoking, oral contraceptive use and PMVA with ischaemic stroke indicates a high-risk population for which appropriate management strategies are warranted."...