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By Gary Cohen
The Stroke-Migraine Connection
People who have migraine with aura are more than twice as likely to suffer a stroke .
Most migraine patients know their symptoms like they know their reflection in the mirror . But many of these symptoms — disturbances in vision and language , for example — can also be indicators of stroke . Although the absolute risk is small , recent studies show that people who suffer from migraine with aura have double , or even triple , the risk of stroke compared with people who don ’ t get migraines at all . The exact connection between the two diseases is still unclear , but there are things you can do to lower your risk .
José Biller , MD , FACP , FAAN , FAHA , professor and chair of the department of neurology at the Stritch School of Medicine at Loyola University Chicago , has been a practicing neurologist for more than 30 years with subspecialty expertise in stroke and headache medicine . He recently sat down with Head Wise to discuss the migraine-stroke connection .
Head Wise ( HW ): How can people learn to recognize a stroke ? Dr . Biller : The symptoms of stroke depend on the area of the brain that is affected . The most common manifestations are characterized by the sudden onset of a focal neurological deficit . That can be visual loss in one or both eyes , or in half of the visual field ; speech or language impairment ; weakness or paralysis in one part of the body — that can be in the face , the arm or the leg ; numbness or tingling in one part of the body ; unexplained headaches ; unexplained dizziness or vertigo ; or a combination of these symptoms .
HW : Recent research has solidified the connection between migraine and stroke . So how are the two diseases related ? Dr . Biller : First of all , true migraine-induced stroke , or migrainous infarction , is very rare . Migraine is associated with a low absolute risk of stroke or mini-stroke , also known as transient ischemic attacks . The risk of stroke , though , is largely associated to the subtype of migraines with aura and most commonly occurs in women under the age of 45 . That is magnified by other associated risks , particularly the consumption of tobacco and the use of oral contraceptives . The incidence of migrainous infarction varies if you have associated risk factors or not .
22 HEAD WISE | Volume 1 , Issue 3 • 2011