Migraine and Ischemic Stroke: Atherosclerosis Link?

June 14, 2017

Does cerebrovascular atherosclerosis explain the connection between migraine and vascular diseases?

Although migraine is a risk factor for ischemic stroke, it is associated with other vascular diseases as well. Scroll through the slides for new insights on the associations between migraine and cerebrovascular atherosclerosis.

Van and colleagues[1] investigated the associations between migraine and cerebrovascular atherosclerosis. Here's what they found.

Data from the Dutch Acute Stroke Study was used to investigate associations between migraine and cerebrovascular atherosclerosis in 656 patients with acute ischemic stroke. Fifty-three patients had a history of migraine. Migraine was not associated with a difference in atherosclerotic changes in intracranial (adjusted risk ratio=0.82; 95% CI, 0.64-1.05) or extracranial (adjusted RR=0.93; 95% CI, 0.77-1.12) vessels.

Patients with and without migraine had similar internal carotid artery calcification volumes.

Migraine resulting in ischemic stroke may be related to biological mechanisms and not to macrovascular cerebral atherosclerosis.

1. Van Os HJA, Mulder IA, Broersen A, et al. Migraine and cerebrovascular atherosclerosis in patients with ischemic stroke. Stoke. Epub 2017 May 19. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28526767

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Migraine and Ischemic Stroke: Atherosclerosis Link?

Leah Lawrence