Published 7 August 2008, doi:10.1136/bmj.a745
Cite this as: BMJ 2008;337:a745

Editorials

Migraine with aura

Association with myocardial infarction and stroke is modified by cardiovascular risk status

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

In women, migraine with aura is a risk factor for several ischaemic outcomes including all cause cardiovascular death, stroke, myocardial infarction, angina, coronary revascularisation procedures, and claudication.^{1 2 3 4} This has led to the suggestion that migraine with aura may predispose to systemic atherosclerosis, which increases the risk for each of these outcomes through similar mechanisms.

In the linked cohort study (doi: 10.1136/bmj.a636), Kurth and colleagues assess whether migraine with aura may be linked to stroke and myocardial infarction through distinct mechanisms.¹ They show that in women, the relation of migraine with aura to subsequent stroke and myocardial infarction depends on cardiovascular risk as estimated by the Framingham risk score.¹ Their findings raise questions regarding the mechanistic links between migraine with aura, stroke, and myocardial infarction and have implications for clinical practice and preventive interventions.

Abundant evidence indicates that the aura of migraine is underpinned by cortical spreading depression, which is . . . [Full text of this article]

¹ Department of Neurology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Rousso 332, Bronx, NY, 10461, USA

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Relevant Article

Migraine, vascular risk, and cardiovascular events in women: prospective cohort study

Tobias Kurth, Markus Schürks, Giancarlo Logroscino, J Michael Gaziano, and Julie E Buring
BMJ 2008 337: a636. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Bigal, M. E., Kurth, T., Hu, H., Santanello, N., Lipton, R. B. (2009). Migraine and cardiovascular disease: Possible mechanisms of interaction. Neurology 72: 1864-1871 [Abstract] [Full text]  

Rapid Responses:

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Primary Care of Migraine with Aura.

GEORGE Y. CALDWELL, et al.
bmj.com, 22 Aug 2008 [Full text]

Migraine with aura and cardiovascular disease: does the relative risk vary with the absolute risk?

Mark Woodward
bmj.com, 26 Aug 2008 [Full text]

Re: Migraine with aura and cardiovascular disease: does the relative risk vary with the absolute risk?

Anne E Scott, et al.
bmj.com, 7 Sep 2008 [Full text]

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