Science

Migraines and heart attacks in men may be associated

by William Atkins

Wednesday, 30 May 2007

According to Harvard University researchers, a biological link has been found between migraines in men and cardiovascular problems. Men who get migraine headaches are more likely to have heart attacks then men who don’t get such headaches.

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U.S. neuroepidemiologist Tobias Kurth, from the Harvard School of Public Health and the Brigham and Women’s Hospital (both located in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A.), said that their study was the first to find a direct biological link between migraines and heart attacks in men.

Over 20,000 men between the ages of 40 and 84 years participated in the study that lasted for 21 years, beginning in 1982. Over the first five years, 24% of the men reported the occurrence of migraine headaches. Over the next 16 years, these men were found to have a 24% higher risk of getting cardiovascular disease and 42% more likely to have heart attacks.

Migraine headaches are not as big of a health risk as heart disease, which is caused by such ailments as high cholesterol levels and high blood pressure in the body and by obesity, but it is still a health concern for all humans.

According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), over 28 million U.S. citizens suffer from migraine headaches. About 6% of men are afflicted with migraines, while women are three times more likely to have a migraine headache. Migraine headache symptoms often include an intense headache with throbbing in the head, nausea, vomiting, and extreme sensitivity to light and sound.

The paper reporting on this link between migraines and heart attacks is written up in the April 23, 2007 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine. The study is supported by NIH’s National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) and National Cancer Institute (NCI).

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