MARTIN - Healthcare providers with patients who suffer from migraines headaches—especially those with aura—would be wise to have a heightened level of awareness of their patients’ cardiovascular disease risk factors.
Those are the findings highlighted in a scholarly review authored by Ashraf Alqaqa, MD, a cardiologist with Tennova Specialists – Martin. Dr. Alqaqa is also the chief of cardiovascular services and director of the chest pain unit at Tennova Healthcare – Volunteer Martin. His conclusions were recently published in the Journal of Clinical & Experimental Cardiology.
Though the precise connection is not clear, clinical studies indicate an association between migraine headaches and several cardiovascular conditions, including stroke, coronary artery disease, mitral valve prolapse and cardiac arrhythmias according to Alqaqa. He said that clinical data suggests that brain ischemic changes—possibly caused by insufficient blood flow to the brain—may occur during migraine headaches and have been observed to involve other organs, mainly the heart.
Migraine headaches are more intense than a typical tension headache and cause significant pain. They are divided into two categories—migraines with aura and migraines without aura. Aura refers to sensory warning symptoms, which often begin between 10 and 30 minutes before the throbbing headache, such as flashes of light or ringing in the ears.
Dr. Alqaqa’s review notes that it is uncertain if there is a causal relationship between migraine headaches and certain cardiovascular conditions—meaning one leads to the other—or if the relationship is simply coincidental. Nonetheless, he suggests the link provides clear guidance.
Additional studies are needed to fully understand the association between migraine headaches and heart and vascular diseases Alqaqa said. However, there is sufficient evidence to indicate that healthcare providers should be attentive to cardiovascular disease risk factors when caring for their patients who suffer from migraines.
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