Migraine with Aura Is a Risk Factor for Cervical Artery Dissection: A Case-Control Study

Abstract

Background: Cervical artery dissection (CAD) is the most common single etiology for stroke in young adults. Migraine, especially with aura (MA), is a known risk factor for ischemic stroke. The association between CAD and migraine was suggested based on a few small studies, but there are no large-scale case-control data, and the mechanisms are not yet clear. Methods: We compared the lifetime prevalence of migraine and migraine characteristics in 313 CAD patients with 313 healthy age- and sex-matched controls. We also analyzed clinical and radiological characteristics of CAD with respect to migraine subtypes to investigate whether clear phenotypical associations can be found that might help in the search for a possible shared genetic background for migraine and CAD. Results: Migraine was clearly more common in CAD patients than in controls (36 vs. 23%; OR 2.15; 95% CI 1.48–3.14), and the association was also highly significant for MA (23 vs. 12%; OR 2.41; 95% CI 1.53–3.80). Percentages of reported migraine history and MA of CAD patients vs. controls compared separately for both sexes were as follows: for women, migraine 54 vs. 35% (OR 2.30; 95% CI 1.28–4.13), MA 35 vs. 18% (OR 2.79; 95% CI 1.40–5.59); for men, migraine 27 vs. 16% (OR 2.02; 95% CI 1.23–3.31), MA 16 vs. 10% (OR 2.21; 95% CI 1.19–4.11). Over 60% of the CAD patients with still active migraine at the time of dissection reported later alleviation of migraine activity. Conclusion: Our observations suggest that patients with CAD are a significant link between ischemic stroke and migraine. This connection may represent a common pathophysiological or genetic background, or both. Migraine activity appears to be alleviated by CAD.