Migraines Linked to Heart Risk in Men

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Overall, men with migraines were at 24 percent increased risk of major cardiovascular events, with heart attacks being the leading reported problem.

"This translated into an additional risk of two major events per 10,000 men per year," Kurth said. "The absolute risk increase is rather on the low side."

Men with migraine had a 12 percent increased risk of ischemic stroke and a 7 percent increased risk of cardiovascular death. However, the authors said neither figure was statistically significant, meaning it could have occurred by chance.

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Also, the average age of the participants was 56, so the findings cannot be extrapolated to younger men. In general, migraines occur more frequently among younger people.

The researchers had no information on migraine aura in these men, so it's unclear if the findings are restricted to that type of migraine or not.

Other questions remain.

"We don't know what the possible mechanisms are," Kurth said. "Migraine is associated with other risk factors such as hypertension and cholesterol, and there is an association between migraine and inflammatory markers. Whether these factors really cause the association is unknown at this point."

"Until we know more, the things that should be considered are major [heart] risk factors," he continued. "If you have this marker for increased risk and you have other risk factors, those should be modified and treated."

More information

There's more on migraine at the U.S. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (www.ninds.nih.gov ).

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