Women with migraines have higher risk of cardiovascular disease, mortality
These results add to evidence that migraine should be considered an important risk marker for cardiovascular disease, say experts. But more research is needed to determine possible causes, and whether treatments to prevent migraines could help to reduce these associated risks. Migraine has been consistently linked with an increased risk of stroke, but few studies have shown an association of migraine with cardiovascular diseases and mortality. So a team of US and German researchers carried out a large prospective study to evaluate associations between migraine, cardiovascular disease and mortality. They analysed data from 115,541 women enrolled in the Nurses' Health Study II. The participants were aged 25-42 years, free from angina and cardiovascular disease, and followed from 1989-2011 for cardiovascular events, diseases and mortality. Overall, 17,531 (15.2%) women reported a physician's diagnosis of migraine at baseline. Over 20 years of follow-up, 1,329 total cardi...