From: deputyfife23x@gmail.com   
      
   Migraine With Aura May Raise Risk of Heart Trouble   
      
   Study found only high blood pressure was a greater predictor of heart attacks,   
   strokes and blood clots   
      
   Jan 15, 2013   
   + More   
      
   By Steven Reinberg   
   HealthDay Reporter   
      
   TUESDAY, Jan. 15 (HealthDay News) -- Women who suffer from migraines with   
   visual effects called aura may face an increased risk for heart attacks,   
   strokes and blood clots, new studies find.   
      
   Only high blood pressure was a more powerful predictor of cardiovascular   
   trouble, the researchers said.   
      
   There are things women with this type of migraine can do to reduce that risk,   
   they added: lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels, avoid smoking, eat   
   healthfully and exercise.   
      
   "Other studies have found that this form of migraine has been associated with   
   the risk of stroke, and may be associated with any cardiovascular disease,"   
   said lead author Dr. Tobias Kurth, from the French National Institute of   
   Health and Medical Research    
   in Bordeaux and Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. "We find migraine with   
   aura is a quite strong contributor to major cardiovascular disease. It is one   
   of the top two risk factors."   
      
   Other studies have found the risk for cardiovascular disease for people who   
   suffer from migraines with aura is roughly double that of people without the   
   condition, Kurth noted.   
      
   People who suffer from migraines with aura see flickering lights or other   
   visual effects just before the headache kicks in, he explained.   
      
   The findings are to be presented in March at the American Academy of Neurology   
   annual meeting in San Diego.   
      
   For the study, Kurth's team collected data on nearly 28,000 women who took   
   part in the Women's Health Study. Among these women, more than 1,400 suffered   
   from migraines with aura.   
      
      
   During 15 years of follow-up, more than 1,000 women had a heart attack, stroke   
   or died from cardiovascular causes, the researchers found.   
      
   After high blood pressure, migraine with aura was the strongest predictor for   
   having a heart attack or stroke among these women. The risk was even more   
   pronounced than that associated with diabetes, smoking, obesity and a family   
   history of heart disease,    
   the investigators noted.   
      
   Whether controlling migraines reduces the risk for heart disease isn't known,   
   Kurth said.   
      
   The study found a link between migraines with aura and cardiovascular trouble,   
   but it didn't prove cause-and-effect.   
      
   Although women who have migraine with aura seem to have this increased risk,   
   it doesn't doom everyone who has migraines with aura to have a heart attack or   
   stroke, Kurth noted.   
      
   One expert was worried by the finding.   
      
   "What is concerning about this is that migraine with aura is more of a risk   
   than diabetes," said Dr. Noah Rosen, director of the Headache Center at   
   Cushing Neuroscience Institute at North Shore-LIJ Health System in Manhasset,   
   N.Y. "Maybe this will change    
   the way we stratify risk based on a history of migraine."   
      
   Rosen doesn't think that controlling migraine will reduce the cardiovascular   
   risks. "Migraine, in all likelihood, is a genetic phenomena, so it is not a   
   modifiable risk factor," he said. That makes it even more important to control   
   other risk factors for    
   cardiovascular disease, he added.   
      
   Results of another study scheduled to be presented at the neurology meeting   
   show that women who have migraines with aura who take hormonal contraceptives   
   have a higher risk of blood clots than women with migraine without aura.   
      
      
   The study found that 7.6 percent of women with migraine with aura who used a   
   newer generation contraceptive that combines the hormones estrogen and   
   progestin had deep vein thrombosis (a clot in a leg vein), compared with 6.3   
   percent of women with    
   migraine without aura.   
      
   This risk for clots, such as deep vein thrombosis, has been associated with   
   all women taking hormonal contraceptives, but it is even more elevated in   
   women with migraine, the researchers noted.   
      
   In addition, the complications from these clots is greater among women with   
   migraine with aura. The danger of these clots is they can travel to the heart,   
   lungs or brain and cause heart attacks, strokes or severe breathing problems.   
      
   For this study, researchers from Brigham and Women's Falkner Hospital   
   collected data on more than 145,000 women who used hormonal contraceptives.   
   Among these women, nearly 2,700 had migraine with aura and more than 3,400 had   
   migraine without aura.   
      
   The reasons why migraine is linked to clotting and cardiovascular disease   
   aren't known, Rosen said.   
      
   "Women making the decision to be on a hormonal contraceptive should discuss   
   their headache history with their doctor," he added.   
      
   The data and conclusions of research presented at medical meetings should be   
   considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.   
      
   More information   
      
   For more on migraine, visit the U.S. National Library of Medicine.   
      
      
   http://health.usnews.com/health-news/news/articles/2013/01/15/mi   
   raine-with-aura-may-raise-risk-of-heart-trouble   
      
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