Successful treatment of concurrent acute migraine headache and atrial fibrillation with benzodiazepine administration

Abstract

Migraine and atrial fibrillation (AF) are common disorders in the general population in which autonomic nervous system takes role in the pathophysiological mechanism of both diseases. Migraine is a primary headache disease that is associated with significant debilitating symptoms and disability especially among young individuals and AF is associated with excess risk of morbidity and mortality. Interaction between migraine and AF has been a major interest since years at a pathophysiological and clinical level. Benzodiazepines (BZDs) are a class of psychotropic drugs that act through gamma amino butyric acid-A receptors located in the central nervous system. BZDs are widely used for their anxiolytic, anticonvulsant, sedative-hypnotic and muscle relaxant effects. Herein, we describe a case of a patient presenting with concurrent acute migraine headache and AF attack and successful treatment of both conditions simultaneously with intravenous administration of BZD.