A new study has resulted in some rather alarming findings for women who are unfortunate enough to suffer from migraines – migraine headaches increases the risk of developing heart disease and also the possibility of having a stroke.
The findings of the rather large study found clear evidence that shows women who suffer from migraines are far more likely than other women to develop cardiovascular diseases such as heart disease, heart attacks, angina (chest pain) and strokes and then needing to undergo invasive heart-related surgical procedures such as coronary artery bypass grafting. The likelihood of dying from any of these severe illnesses are also increased. The results of the finding were published today, online, in the journal The BMJ.
Migraine may increase risk of cardiovascular disease: Migraine is known to be a risk facto… https://t.co/gxo9186m7f #cardiology #heart
— cardio-research.com (@CardioResearch) June 1, 2016
The 20-year study consisted of nurses and found that in total, the risk of developing major heart and circulation problems increased by 50 percent if the women suffered from migraines. According to U.S. News and World Report, one in six diagnosed with migraines early in the study had a 39 per cent bigger risk of a heart attack, the danger of stroke increased by 62 percent and the likelihood of cardiovascular death was 37 percent higher.
The aim of the large prospective study that the team of US and German researchers carried out was to evaluate the associations between migraine, cardiovascular disease and mortality and data from over 115,540 women enrolled in the Nurses’ Health Study II was analysed. The age group of the participants was 25-42 with each of them originally being free from angina and cardiovascular disease then monitored from 1989 – 2011 for cardiovascular events, diseases and mortality.
Throughout the study 17,531 (15.2%) of the women reported suffering from migraines and over 20 years of following up – in total 1,329 cardiovascular disease events occurred and 223 of the women in the study died due to cardiovascular disease. Heart attacks occurred in 678 of the women with migraines, 651 had strokes and about 203 participants reported chest pains or that they needed heart-related procedures. The findings also revealed that 223 women died from those heart-related conditions.
The lead researcher for the study into migraines is Dr. Tobias Kurth, director of the Institute of Public Health at Charite-Universitatsmedizin in Berlin, Germany and he wished to advise that while the study is not one that proves migraines cause a heart attack or stroke the presence of them means that these events would be more likely.
“Migraine should be considered a marker for increased risk of cardiovascular disease, at least in women.”
Kuth also went on to say that though thus far only the effects on women have been studied it is entirely possible that men would be similarly affected as there is “no reason to believe that this is limited to women.”
Experts say that the existence of this study means that from here on out migraines should be considered an important risk marker for cardiovascular disease. More research does need to be done however, in order to determine the possible causes and if treatments to help prevent the migraines would also reduce the associated risks relating to cardiovascular health.
Shouldn't migraine be considered a cardiovascular disease risk factor in women? https://t.co/Yyq2HgRAo2 @bmj_latest http://pic.twitter.com/AmjD9OgAXT
— Eric Topol (@EricTopol) June 1, 2016
Dr. Rebecca Burch, an instructor in the department of neurology at Harvard Medical School in Boston, who according to Live Science contributed an editorial accompaniment to the study but was not actually involved in the research has mentioned just how important the findings.
“This study provides really good quality evidence that migraine in women is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease.”
Burch was also sure to stress that migraines are still not as great a risk factor as smoking, high blood pressure or high cholesterol have been for cardiovascular diseases but, the fact that migraines are so common in women though, with an estimated 1 in 4 American women being affected, means that migraines add up to be a very significant risk factor.
It is believed that the most likely explanation for the link is that migraines and cardiovascular disease possess a shared underlying physical trait. Essentially this means that there is possibly something different about the blood vessels in people who get the throbbing headaches that are migraines which may cause their body to behave differently than persons who do not suffer from migraines.
While further research is necessary to determine the exact reason for the link between migraines and cardiovascular diseases the recommendation is that women should continue to handle migraines with existing treatments while being aware of the full effect they can have on the body. They should also try to reduce the overall risk associated with heart disease and stroke by treating their bodies right.
[Photo Courtesy of Maridav/ Shutterstock]
New Study Reveals Women Who Suffer From Migraine Face 50 Percent Higher Risk Of Cardiovascular Disease And Even Death is an article from: The Inquisitr News
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