Discoveries & Stats

5 March 2018

Migraine Increases Your Risk for Heart Disease – but what types?

A recent study in the British Medical Journal aimed to find out which types of cardiovascular disease were more likely in migraine patients.

Migraine and Heart Disease It’s actually well known that migraine is associated with heart disease. Most often, the types mentioned are stroke and heart attack. But this study of tens of thousands of migraine patients gives us more insights into where the risk really is.

So your risk of these heart conditions may be increased if you have migraine:

Ischemic Stroke: The most common type of stroke. Yes, migraine tends to increase your risk.
Myocardial Infarction: More commonly known as heart attack. Yes, migraine seems to increase your risk.
Venous Thromboembolism (VTE): Also very common, third in line (in the vascular category) after stroke and heart attack. It is a blood clot that starts in a vein. Yes, migraine seems to increase your risk.
Atrial Fibrillation: The most common abnormal heart rhythm. Quite common in people over 65. Yes, migraine may increase your risk.
~~Heart Failure~~: Also very common, but migraine does not seem to increase your risk.
~~Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD)~~: A narrowing of the peripheral arteries to the legs, or possibly stomach, arms, or head. No increased risk with migraine.

The risk tended to be higher in women, and also in those who experienced aura with their migraine attacks.

It bears repeating that this is not a drastically increased risk. You’re not by any means guaranteed to get any of the above conditions if you have migraine.

However, it does increase your risk significantly enough for researchers to take notice. And if you have other risk factors, you should think about how to lower your risk.

These types of studies not only help us measure our risk, they also help us understand migraine. Researchers are trying to delve into why migraine and heart disease are connected, which should help us understand both better in the future.

For more information, see Migraine May Be Linked to More Cardiovascular Diseases, Study Says

Also be sure to read Migraine and Heart Disease: 7 Critical Things to Know Now

26 February 2018

Migraine and Memory: Is this how Migraine affects you?

James Discoveries & Stats 0

On the way home, I need to remember to buy blueberries.

And yet, in the evening when I’m ready for dessert, I find myself blueberryless. I forgot.

Don't forget the blueberries. This type of memory is called “prospective memory”. It’s the ability to remember to do something in the future. As we all know, it doesn’t always work perfectly!

Is it possible that migraine makes things worse?

Researchers have noticed that some frontal areas of the brain can be impaired by migraine attacks – areas that are also related to this type of memory. So, they studied the relationship between the two.

175 people were recruited for the study, 91 with migraine. Now, you can guess what the results were, since this article wouldn’t be here if the researchers hadn’t noticed anything. But it’s a little more interesting than that.

Often these studies divide patients who experience migraine with aura, and those who don’t experience aura.

In this case, the memory impairment was in the group without aura. Yes, patients with migraine (without aura) did have more trouble remembering to do things in the future than those with aura or healthy individuals (see study abstract here).

Now here’s another interesting note. One type of prospective memory was impaired more than another type.

Event-based prospective memory refers to remembering something based on environmental cues. I drive by the store, I remember that I need to buy blueberries.

Time-based prospective memory is, of course, based on time. 4pm comes around, and I remember that I need to buy blueberries.

The migraine patients had the most problems, for some reason, with time-based memory.

So, if you want to buy blueberries, use visual cues. Better yet, just write yourself a note.

For a short article about prospective memory and how to avoid memory fails, see When We Forget to Remember – Failures in Prospective Memory Range From Annoying to Lethal. And here’s a quick primer on migraine and memory loss.

(By the way, you should actually buy blueberries. They’re excellent for migraine patients. They might even improve your memory.)

19 February 2018

Another Link between Alzheimer’s and Migraine?

James Discoveries & Stats, Treatments 0

A recent study has uncovered a possible link between migraine and dementia.

As we’ve talked about before, most doctors and researchers will tell you that there is no connection between migraine and Alzheimer’s. At least, no solid connection.

A link between Alzheimer’s and Migraine? In other words, you probably don’t have to be afraid that your migraine attacks will lead to Alzheimer’s later in life. Read more here: Alzheimer’s and Headaches

However, there are enough similarities between the two – symptoms and related conditions – to make you wonder if there may be a connection somewhere.

This study was about dementia in general (Alzheimer’s is a type of dementia). The researchers looked at magnesium levels in 10,000 patients, finding that those with low – and high – magnesium levels were more likely to develop various types of dementia.

Now we don’t know why high magnesium levels would relate to dementia. Hypermagnesemia, as it is called, is quite rare – in fact, only two of the patients who developed dementia had high magnesium levels – that’s only 0.24%, so that makes it hard to develop any strong conclusions.

However, patients with low magnesium made up over 13% of the dementia patients.

There are various theories about why low levels of magnesium would be related to dementia, but we do know that many migraine patients have low magnesium levels, and many benefit from taking magnesium supplements.

Although the researchers emphasize that more study is needed, the bottom line for us is that it is wise to keep your magnesium levels in the normal range. In the study, the researchers used a blood test that checks serum magnesium levels. You can also try the magnesium RBC blood test, which seems to be more accurate.

For some important notes about the RBC test, see Magnesium RBC Blood Test from Dr. Carolyn Dean (author of the very highly rated The Magnesium Miracle).

For more on this study from the migraine perspective, see Dementia and magnesium levels.

To see the abstract of the study, visit: Serum magnesium is associated with the risk of dementia

15 February 2018

Sleep, Bruxism, Headache and … Botox?

James Discoveries & Stats, Treatments 0

Often, seeing connections between two conditions can help us find better treatments for a particular patient. And a recent study on Botox and bruxism may lead to better treatments for migraine.
Bruxism and Migraine
Bruxism refers to the clenching or grinding of your teeth at night. You can do it, and not even know it. But it could be a trigger for migraine attacks, or tension type headache.

There are some effective treatments that can help with bruxism – and are likely to help with headaches too – such as the NTI-tss device.

But a recent study suggests that onabotulinumtoxinA, well known under the brand name Botox, may help with bruxism as well. (Abstract: Onabotulinum toxin-A injections for sleep bruxism)

In the (small) study, some patients were given a placebo, and others Botox injections. Those who received the injections were more likely to improve over the next few weeks.

Although only a small introductory study, these results may tell us a couple of things. First, if you have migraine and bruxism, it may be more likely that Botox will work for you.

Also, doctors who know that their patients are dealing with migraine and/or tension-type headache may find that they can treat both with Botox. Will this also inform which injection sites are used in various patients – that is, what type of Botox treatment they get? It could very well be.

Have you found Botox helping you with bruxism, or at least helping you get a better sleep? Leave a comment!

For more on the study, see

26 January 2018

CPAP and Headache: for Better or for Worse?

James Discoveries & Stats, Information, Tips, Treatments 3

Most people know CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) as a treatment for sleep apnea. Essentially, a machine connect to a mask, which pumps air under pressure to the lungs, keeping the windpipe open while you’re asleep. The windpipe remains “unobstructed”, thus helping with obstructive sleep apnea.

CPAP and Headaches — Illustration courtesy PruebasBMA

But over the past few years, patients and researchers have become interested in another aspect of CPAP machines. That is, their relation to headaches.

There are three aspects to this question:

Could CPAP machines actually cause headaches, or at least make them worse?
Is sleep apnea related to headaches and migraine? In other words, could treating sleep apnea also fight headaches?
Could CPAP machines be a treatment for headaches, migraine, and even cluster headache?

Let’s start with #1. Yes, some people have noticed an increase in headache symptoms when they use the CPAP machine. This shouldn’t be surprising – any significant change can certainly trigger an attack in people with migraine disease.

However, there may be some good solutions (besides avoiding CPAP treatment). One would be “giving it time”, of course, but one business focused on sleep related medical equipment reports that there could be a simple solution:

Sinus systems extend behind your ears. When a CPAP is used and part of the sinus cavities are blocked, a situation is created where there is a pressure differential between the sinus cavities affected. These pressure differences can sometimes be felt as sinus headaches or just plain headaches, even though they are caused by sinus blockages. These can be treated using over the counter medications to open the sinus. CPAP heated humidifiers can also open and maintain sinus systems. If you do not use a heated humidifier, we strongly suggest using one. If this does not correct the problem, visit your ENT. [Why do I have a headache when I wake up?]

These are common recommendations from both companies with experience and doctors. Check if a pressure adjustment is needed, and consider a CPAP heated humidified (and make sure it’s working properly).

Also, you may have a reaction to the straps used for the mask. See if you can loosen them or try a different type of mask/strap.

While a temporary increase in headache symptoms may be common, it’s also common that headache symptoms decrease – or disappear – when a patient starts using a CPAP.

A few people from our community have shared their stories of unexpected success – see Sleep Apnea and Migraine – Comments from You!

It seems that sleep apnea (sleep apnoea) is a significant trigger for headache attacks, such as those from migraine. In 2013, for example, a study was released that showed significant improvement in migraine patients with sleep apnea who started using CPAP (CPAP Improves Migraine Burden in Patients With Sleep Apnea). Another study also found that patients with obstructive sleep apnea and migraine often improved significantly if they were committed to CPAP treatment.

Could CPAP work specifically as a treatment, even if patients aren’t diagnosed with sleep apnea? And which patients are most likely to benefit?

Much more study is needed, and some studies are beginning. For example, a CPAP study in Norway will be evaluating the use of CPAP for cluster headache treatment.

In the mean time, it’s very important for doctors to pay attention to the sleep patterns of headache patients. There are probably a high number of patients with headache symptoms who have undiagnosed obstructive sleep apnea. In fact, doctors could make a lot of headway just by asking a simple question – When you woke up this morning, did you feel refreshed?

For more on sleep apnea and migraine in particular, listen to this podcast.