Epidemiological studies suggest the existence of close but complex relationships between estrogens, migraine, and stroke in women before menopause. Migraine, particularly without aura, is strongly influenced by estrogens as illustrated by the frequency of onset at puberty, of menstrual migraine, and of improvement during pregnancy. Migraine, particularly with aura, is a risk factor for ischemic...

OBJECTIVE To explore the association between migraine and risk of ischaemic stroke. DESIGN Systematic review and meta-analysis. DATA SOURCES Observational studies published between 1966 and June 2004 (identified through Medline and Embase) that examined the association between migraine and risk of ischaemic stroke. RESULTS 14 studies (11 case-control studies and 3 cohort studies) were ide...

BACKGROUND Recent observations suggest that migraine and cerebrovascular disease are comorbid conditions. However, the association of migraine with cerebrovascular disease in the population of elderly Chinese has not been established. This prospective case-control study aimed to investigate the prevalence and lesion characteristics of migraine in elderly Chinese patients with acute cerebral inf...

Several comorbidities are associated to migraine. Recent meta-analyses have consistently demonstrated a relationship between migraine and stroke, which is well-defined for ischemic stroke and migraine with aura (MA), even stronger in females on oral contraceptives or smokers. However, there seems to be no clear-cut association between stroke in migraineurs and the common vascular risk factors, ...

There has been a recent increase in the number of studies dealing with migraine-stroke. I describe five patients in whom migraine-stroke was the clinical diagnosis but in whom the subsequent clinical events or autopsy showed a different mechanism for the cerebral infarction. Three patients had arterial dissection (one proven at autopsy), one had marantic endocarditis that had been missed on two...

CONTEXT Migraine with aura has been associated with an adverse cardiovascular risk profile and prothrombotic factors that, along with migraine-specific physiology, may increase the risk of vascular events. Although migraine with aura has been associated with increased risk of ischemic stroke, an association with cardiovascular disease (CVD) and, specifically, coronary events remains unclear. ...

2002;105:2625–31. 8 Atherosclerotic disease of the aortic arch as a risk factor for recurrent ischemic stroke. The French Study of Aortic Plaques in Stroke Group. N Engl J Med 1996;334:1216–21. 9 Amarenco P. Cryptogenic stroke, aortic arch atheroma, patent foramen ovale, and the risk of stroke. Review. Cerebrovasc Dis 2005;20(Suppl 2):68–74. 10 Meissner I, Khandheria BK, Sheps S et al. Atherosc...

Migraine is positively associated with cardio- and cerebrovascular disorders and with structural heart anomalies. Migraine is more prevalent among people with right-to-left shunt by means of patent foramen ovale, atrial septal defects, and pulmonary arteriovenous malformations and among those with altered cardiac anatomy, such as mitral valve prolapse, atrial septal aneurysm, and congenital hea...

OBJECTIVES Migraine has been identified as an independent risk factor for ischemic stroke. Both neurogenic inflammation and platelet activation have been linked to the pathophysiology of migraine. Increased platelet activation results in up-regulation of specific binding to leukocytes which promotes pro-inflammatory leukocyte secretion and their tethering to endothelium, a mechanism that has be...