Migraine linked to heart attacks in men
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Men with migraine headaches are more likely than non-migraineurs to experience a heart attack, according to data from the Physicians’ Health Study.
The Physicians’ Health Study is a large study that enrolled men ages 40 to 84 years between 1981 and 1984. The subjects, who had no history of heart disease, cancer or other major illnesses at enrollment, complete questionnaires annually regarding health issues.
Dr. Tobias Kurth from Harvard Medical School in Boston and colleagues note in the Archives of Internal Medicine that an earlier analysis found no association between migraine and heart disease after an average follow-up of 12 years. Since migraine is relatively uncommon in men, longer follow-up may be needed to show an association, they suggest.
For the current study, the team included data through the end of February 2005, an average follow-up of 15.7 years. Among 20,084 men, 1,449 reported having migraine in the first 5 years of the study, and a total of 2,236 events related to heart disease or stroke were documented during follow-up.
Compared with men with no history of migraine, those with migraine had a 24 percent increased risk of such events and 42 percent increased risk of heart attack.
Men with migraine were also more prone to stroke, although the increased risk was not statistically significant. Still, a moderate effect on stroke risk was noted in men younger than 55 years of age.
SOURCE: Archives of Internal Medicine, April 23, 2007.
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