Study Reveals Higher Risk of Ischemic Stroke in People with Widespread Pain and Migraines

According to a Danish study, people who suffer from widespread pain would have a higher risk of having an ischemic stroke.

Ischemic stroke occurs when a clot blocks a blood vessel, preventing blood flow to the brain.

People who suffer from migraines would be more at risk

Researchers at the University of Aarhus, Denmark, believe that people with migraine have a higher risk of suffering an ischemic stroke or heart attack before the age of 60. Their results are published in the journal Plus One.

To reach this conclusion, the researchers relied on Danish medical records collected between 1996 and 2018. They focused on information from people between the ages of 18 and 60. To identify migraine sufferers, the researchers used data on headache treatments. The researchers then identified people who had a heart attack, or ischemic stroke, and a hemorrhagic stroke (that is, a rupture of an artery in the brain). They then compared this data with those who suffer from headaches and the rest of the population.

Stroke, myocardial infarction: women with migraine are more at risk

The authors then observed that men and women who suffered from migraine had a higher risk of having an ischemic stroke. In addition, the authors point out that women have a “slightly higher” risk of having a heart attack or hemorrhagic stroke than men with migraines or the general population.

“Migraine was associated with a similar increased risk of ischemic stroke in young men and women. However, migraine may be associated with an increased risk of myocardial infarction and hemorrhagic stroke only in women,” said postdoctoral researcher and lead study author Cecilia Hvitfeldt Fuglsang, according to Femme Actuelle.

Cardiovascular disease: Researchers call for the development of preventive therapies in people at risk

In their conclusions, the authors estimate that women suffer from migraines more often than men. However, they point out that, in the context of their research, they only relied on people who had taken the step of taking treatment to cure their headaches, which excludes from the analysis patients who suffer from headaches and do not take medication for headaches. to relieve the pain. This limitation of the study could lead to underestimation of the role of migraines in these health complications.

Researchers believe that identifying those at increased risk is essential to facilitate targeted preventive therapies because of the severity of heart attacks and strokes, both of which can lead to disability and even death.

Source: Tabu.RO