Migraine Sufferers With Visual Symptoms, Taking Estrogen May Be More At Risk Of Stroke, Study Claims

A study presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2016 revealed that women migraine sufferers have increased risk of stroke. According to the study, women who take estrogen hormone, as well as those who suffer from visual symptoms called auras, have this risk.

The study explained that the two risk factors could combine to pose a dangerous mix for some women, according to Dr. Elizabeth Loder, chief of the headache and pain division at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston.

Estrogen, a female hormone, is contained in birth control pills and hormone-replacement therapy. However, the new research only found associations between migraines with aura, estrogen therapy and stroke risk. It is important to note that the study conducted did not prove cause-and-effect.

"Women who have migraine with aura probably want to think more carefully about the potential risk of stroke associated with using estrogen," Loder said. "I would not go so far as to say they should never use it, but they should think more carefully about it."

According to Medical Daily, between 1996 and 1999, researchers kept an eye on the health of more than 900 women in the United States who exhibited signs of heart disease. Among the total number of female participants, about 80 percent were white and the average age was 58.

Women with a history of headaches were found to have an 83 percent higher risk of having cardiovascular problems, specifically stroke or a heart attack, compared to those women who did not report migraines during the six years that researchers followed up with them. Women with migraines were two times more likely to have a stroke during the study than women who did not have the headaches, according to the press release.

"This is important since migraine is generally not considered a risk factor for cardiovascular disease," study lead author Dr. Cecil Rambarat told Health Day. "Maybe providers need to factor in migraine headaches as a potential risk factor for cardiovascular disease among women. This is not being done currently."

Meanwhile, one study closely examined migraines with aura, which has been identified by earlier research as a risk factor for stroke, the researchers said in background information.

In a report by Health Day, it was revealed that about one in five migraine sufferers experiences visual symptoms before and during a headache, said study author Dr. Souvik Sen, a neurologist at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine. These symptoms can include flashes of light, blind spots or seeing zigzag or squiggly lines.

It is also important to note that study authors said they discovered that patients who experience migraine with aura symptoms seem more likely to suffer a blood-clot stroke than typical migraine sufferers. Specifically, people who have migraine with aura appear to be three times more likely to have a stroke caused by a clot that forms in the heart, dislodges and travels to the brain.

These people are two times more likely to have a stroke caused by a clot that develops in a clogged part of the blood vessel supplying blood to the brain.

Future research needs to look into blood flow patterns in the brains of migraine-with-aura patients, Sen said.

"The aura is an effect of migraine on the blood vessels of the brain," Sen added. "When they have the vision symptoms, it could be an effect of the migraine on the blood vessels of the brain."