Strokes and migraines

If you’ve never had to go through the pain of a migraine headache, you should consider yourself lucky.

For those of us who have, we know migraine headaches as a painful and life altering condition. I know, because I suffered them almost daily for 30 years.

Every time they finally go away you think there’s no way you can take that kind of pain again. And each time they come back you are on your back, lights off, ice packs, heat packs … and terrible pain in your stomach from the severity of the medication.

Inflammation, nausea, vomiting. Not to mention the changes in your visual field.

These are known as aura, and I just learned something new about them.

Migraines have already been associated with heart attack. But new research links those who suffer migraine with aura to nearly double the risk of stroke.

That’s why today I want to tell you how to slash that risk, and about another new treatment for migraine pain that could help you if you’re suffering.

The nature of the beast

Migraines headaches are vascular in nature. That means they are triggered by changes in the blood vessels in the brain. They are also associated with the trigeminal nerve, which wraps from the base of the skull around the sides of the head to the temple areas.

While the precise cause of migraine is not singular, there are many factors known to trigger them.

Some of the more common triggers include humidity, air pressure, stress, lack of sleep or disturbed sleep, and diets high in sugar, fat, preservatives, nitrates, MSG, alcohol, coffee and black tea.

Regardless of the trigger classic migraines are pre-warned with visual aura and usually present with sensitivity to light, sound and smell and bouts of nausea and vomiting.

Research has shown that those who suffer migraines are at increased risk of heart attack and arterial claudication (leg pain due to poor circulation).

And recent studies and meta-analysis show a strong correlation between migraine and the most common form of stroke (roughly 85% of strokes are caused by blood clots in the brain).

Why the huge risk to your brain?

Loyola Medicine recently released results of a meta-analysis carried out by Loyola University Medical Center neurologists Michael Star, MD, and José Biller, MD. The present three very significant findings:

1. Those who suffer migraine with aura are at nearly double the risk of stroke.
2. Migraine sufferers who smoke are at more than triple the risk of stroke.
3. Migraine sufferers who both smoke and use birth control are seven times more likely to suffer stroke.

Drs. Star and Miller dedicate an entire chapter to the association of stroke and migraine in their new book, Headache and Migraine Biology and Management, edited by Seymour Diamond of the National Headache Foundation.

After completing their meta-analysis, the researchers have proposed several possible explanations for the migraine-stroke association:

1. Migraine sufferers are more likely to have risk factors for cardiovascular disease, including low levels of “good” HDL cholesterol, and high levels of C-reactive protein.
2. Specific genes may predispose people to suffer both migraines and stroke.
3. Medications to treat migraines may increase the risk of stroke.
4. A phenomenon that occurs during migraine aura, called cortical spreading depression, might trigger an ischemic stroke. A cortical spreading depression is a slowly propagated wave of depolarization, followed by depression of brain activity occurring during migraine aura. It includes changes in neural and vascular function.

Drs. Star and Biller conclude, “…the research may point to stroke and migraine sharing a reciprocal causal relationship.”

The important thing here, then, if to reduce the incidence of migraine, and to stop smoking and discontinue birth control (if possible) if you suffer migraine with aura.

Additionally, the severity and continuance of migraine can be greatly reduced with a new treatment.

Image-guided migraine treatment

The Society of Interventional Radiology recently released data on their new treatment method for migraine headache. Clinicians at Albany Medical Center and the State University of New York Empire State College have used a treatment called image-guided, intranasal sphenopalatine ganglion (SPG) blocks.

That’s a lot of science speak, but the goal is a simple one: to give patients enough ongoing migraine relief that they required less medication.

Lead study researcher Kenneth Mandato, MD, and team conducted a retrospective analysis of 112 patients suffering migraine or cluster headaches. According to Mandato, “administration of lidocaine to the sphenopalatine ganglion acts as a ‘reset button’ for the brain’s migraine circuitry.”

The treatment may seem like something not for the faint of heart, but if you’ve ever suffered the pain of a migraine, you’ll do about anything to get rid of it. So I’ll describe what the researchers did. They inserted a spaghetti-sized catheter through the nasal passages and administered 4% lidocaine to the sphenopalatine ganglion, a nerve bundle just behind the nose associated with migraines.

The results were pain cut in half.

Prior to treatment, patients reported an average pain score of 8.25. After treatment those scores were halved, averaging at 4.10. What’s more, after treatment nearly 90% of patients reported needed less or no migraine medication for ongoing relief. For anyone who has or does suffer migraine, these results are significant and promising for pain relief.

While the new treatment method is no cure for migraine, it does offer promise in the relief of chronic migraine pain that can be crippling and life-changing. And once there is a break in the pain cycle, migraine sufferers can stop chasing relief and taxing their bodies with drugs and begin the path of prevention.

I’ve written about natural means of migraine relief here and here, and prevention here and here. The essential thing is to reduce pain when the migraine is in control, and to prevent the migraine from triggers every other day. By preventing the trigger you can not only live a better life, but greatly reduce your risk for stroke and heart disease.

References

People who suffer migraine headaches may be at double the risk of stroke — Loyola Medicine

Image-guided treatment shown to break the migraine cycle
— Society of Interventional Radiology

Headache solution by location — Easy Health Options

Simply Press These Points For Headache Relief — Easy Health Options

Controlling For Headache Triggers — Easy Health Options

Use Mind And Body To Stave Off Headaches — Easy Health Options