Increased risk of Migraine and Heart Disease – new study

A study from the Medical University of Graz, Austria found a certain group of people had a 7.93 fold increased risk of migraine.  Are you one of them?  And why?

The interesting thing about the study was the type of testing that was done.  This wasn’t any kind of migraine test – it was a common test for risk of cardiovascular disease – things like heart attack and stroke.  It was the "lipid test" – a type of blood test that many adults have routinely every few years.

The lipid test measures things like various types of cholesterol.

If your doctor has concerns about your heart, for example if there’s a family history or you’re overweight, this is a common test.

But these patients that were tested were not overweight.  And yet the migraineurs had higher cholesterol levels, including low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and low density lipoprotein cholesterol that was oxidized.

LDL-C is sometimes called "bad cholesterol", though that’s a bit of a misnomer.  In fact, the cholesterol is the same – it’s the way it’s used in your body that’s bad.

The oxidized version is really considered to be bad, and many of the migraineurs showed increased levels.  As a matter of fact, it was estimated that people with increased oxidized LDL-C had a 7.93 fold higher risk of migraine.

This is another clue into the connection between migraine and heart disease – we already know that migraineurs face an increased risk of heart and stroke.  We’re still trying to get to the heart of the problem (no pun intended).

It’s also a reminder for migraineurs to be careful with their heart health.  Getting sufficient exercise, watching your weight, and being careful of so-called "bad fats" in your diet, such as trans-fats.

Some excellent foods for migraineurs that are heart healthy include apples (whole apples – not apple juice), fish (such as tuna, salmon and halibut) and oats.

Study notes: Lipid profile in normal weight migraineurs – evidence for cardiovascular risk.