Migraine and cerebrovascular disease: still a dangerous connection?

Abstract

Migraine is a common type of headache in young adults, with an estimated prevalence of 4% before puberty and as high as 25% in women by their mid to late 30s. About one third of migraineurs experience transient neurological symptoms known as auras, which characterize a variant known as migraine with aura. Many evidences have shown an increased risk of vascular events in patients affected by migraine, particularly among women and among migraine patients with aura. Potential underlying mechanisms include endothelial dysfunction, hypercoagulability, platelet aggregation, vasospasm, cardiovascular risk factors, paradoxical embolism, spreading depolarization, shared genetic risk, use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and immobilization. The risk of vascular events in migraine patients is also linked by concomitant oral contraception; moreover, the common finding of increased incidence of right to left cardiac shunt in migraine patients might have a pathogenetic role. Finally, many MRI studies in migraine patients, particularly in migraine with aura, have shown subcortical lesions particularly in the cerebellum as a common finding. In this review, we analyzed the more recent findings regarding the topic of migraine as a risk factor in stroke.