Migraines Could Warn of Future CV Events

Migraine is associated with an increased risks for various adverse cardiovascular (CV) events, including myocardial infarction (MI), ischemic stroke, and venous thromboembolism (VTE), a recent study showed.

From 1995 to 2013, the researchers assessed 51,032 Danish patients with migraine, along with 510,320 matched controls. Cox regression analysis was used to calculate hazard ratios (HR) for CV outcomes, and results were adjusted for the presence of comorbidities.
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Findings showed that patients with migraine had higher absolute risks of CV events compared with controls for the majority of outcomes across most follow-up periods. For patients with migraine vs controls, the researchers found the cumulative incidences per 1000 people to be 25 vs 17 for MI, 45 vs 25 for ischemic stroke, 11 vs 6 for hemorrhagic stroke, 13 vs 11 for peripheral artery disease, 27 vs 18 for VTE, 47 vs 34 for atrial fibrillation or atrial flutter, and 19 vs 18 for heart failure

Ultimately, the researchers observed positive associations of migraine with MI (adjusted HR [aHR] 1.49), ischemic stroke (aHR 2.26), hemorrhagic stroke (aHR 1.94), VTE (2.26), and atrial fibrillation or atrial flutter (aHR 1.25).

The researchers noted that these associations were stronger in the short-term after diagnosis vs long-term, in those with aura vs without aura, and in women vs men, especially for stroke outcomes.

“Migraine was associated with increased risks of myocardial infarction, ischemic stroke, hemorrhagic stroke, venous thromboembolism, and atrial fibrillation or atrial flutter,” the researchers concluded. “Migraine may be an important risk factor for most cardiovascular diseases.”

—Christina Vogt

Reference:

Adelborg K, Komjáthiné Szépligeti S, Holland-Bill L, et al. Migraine and risk of cardiovascular diseases: Danish population based matched cohort study [Published online January 31, 2018]. BMJ. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.k96.