Migraine during pregnancy ups risk of stroke

Women who suffer migraine headaches while pregnant are at increased risk for suffering a heart attack, stroke or other "vascular" event, according to research presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology underway in Boston.

"Women with persistent migraine during pregnancy should be aware of their risk factors, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, history of blood clots, heart disease, and prior stroke," said Dr. Cheryl Bushnell from Duke University, Durham, North Carolina.
There also seems to be a connection between migraine headache during pregnancy and preeclampsia, the most common and dangerous complication of pregnancy. "Good prenatal care is essential," Bushnell said.

Among nearly 17 million women with a pregnancy-related discharge from US hospitals during a 3-year period (2000-2003), a total of 33,956 women were treated for migraine during their pregnancy.

Women who were 35 or older when they delivered were more likely to have migraines than were younger women.

"We also found that there was a very close association between migraine and vascular disease," Bushnell said at a gathering of reporters at the meeting.

Women treated for migraine during pregnancy were 19 times more likely to suffer a stroke, five times more likely to have a heart attack and more than twice as likely to have heart disease, blood clots and other vascular problems. They were also more than twice as likely to develop preeclampsia or high blood pressure related to their pregnancy.

Risk factors for vascular disease such as diabetes, high blood pressure and smoking were also associated with experiencing migraine headache during pregnancy.

Previous research has linked migraine with stroke and cardiovascular disease in older women. The current study now supports the same association in women who are pregnant, Bushnell said.

"I don't think that we should assume that just because they are young and pregnant that they are not at risk for having a vascular event," she told Reuters Health.