cervical artery dissection

26 July 2011

Cardiovascular System: More Links to Migraine?

A recent study (actually, a study of studies, known as a systematic review and meta-analysis) published in the journal Cephalalgia suggests that the risk of dissection of the cervical artery is twice as high for people with migraine. With all the links that have been found between migraine and heart disease, stroke, heart attack, and the like, it shouldn’t be a surprise that more links are being found.

What is cervical artery dissection? The cervical arteries are a set of four major arteries in your neck. Dissection occurs when the lining of one of these arteries becomes torn. It can become serious when clots form in the tears. Cervical artery dissection is a major cause of stroke in people under 50.

Because there are four arteries, even a clot often causes no problems. But a dissection can cause severe headache, pain in your face and neck, and other symptoms. Neck pain is often an early warning sign.

Because neck pain is common in migraine, sometimes a diagnosis of cervical artery dissection is missed.

If you’re experiencing symptoms of cervical artery dissection such as the above (stroke-like symptoms may be present as well), talk to your doctor. She will examine you and ask about your medical history, and possibly send you for more tests (various scans and ultrasounds may be used).

Dissections may heal up on their own, or you may need to take medication to deal with clots. But be sure to talk to your doctor if you think your symptoms may be more than migraine – especially if your symptoms have recently changed.

A summary of the study: Migraine, migraine aura, and cervical artery dissection: A systematic review and meta-analysis
More about Cervical artery dissection

4 May 2010

Migraine and Stroke in Young Adults and more

James Discoveries & Stats 4

A new study suggests another major link between migraine and stroke.

The most common single cause of stroke in young adults is something called cervical artery dissection. This is a problem with one of two major arteries in your neck. When the lining of one of the arteries becomes torn, the blood can clot and weaken the wall of the artery or actually block it.

This problem can heal on its own, but it can be serious not only because of the symptoms it can cause but because it can cause stroke before it properly heals.

We know that there seems to be an increased risk of stroke for migraine patients. So the question is, is there a correlation between migraine and cervical artery dissection (CAD)?

According to a new study, yes.

The study out of Finland was written up last month. The researchers took 313 CAD patients and looked for lifetime prevalence of migraine. They also looked at migraine type and CAD type.

Both men and women with CAD were significantly more likely to have migraine disease, particularly migraine with aura.

And another interesting note. When CAD occurred, often patients reported an alleviation of migraine – another interesting link that needs to be investigated.

What we want to do is narrow down exactly why migraineurs are more likely to be stroke victims. It looks like this may be an important link. There could be, for example, a genetic factor that is causing both migraine and CAD.

The researchers concluded: Our observations suggest that patients with CAD are a significant link between ischemic stroke and migraine.