Migraine: It could mean you're more likely to have a heart problem

21 June 2007

If you’re a migraine sufferer, you may also have a greater chance of heart disease, and even a heart attack. The process of artery constriction that leads to a migraine attack also makes the sufferer more likely to suffer cardiovascular disease.

The link has been suggested by researchers who analysed the health profiles of 20,084 men aged between 40 and 84 who are participating in the major Physicians’ Health Study.

Of those, 1,449 – or 7.2 per cent – suffered regular migraines, a group that also reported 2,236 major heart problems in 15 years. From this, researchers reckon that a migraine sufferer is almost twice as likely to suffer a heart problem as someone who doesn’t get migraines.

(Source: Archives of Internal Medicine, 2007; 167: 795-801).

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Migraine: It could mean you're more likely to have a heart problem

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