The connection between silent brain injury and migraine has evolved into a new point of research. A recent study published in the American Heart Association’s journal Stroke suggests that individuals with a history of migraines are twice as a likely to experience silent brain injury as those who do not suffer from migraines. Led by Teshamae Monteith, M.D., from the Headache Division at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, the study indicates that older migraine sufferers may incur a significantly higher risk of silent brain injury, and recommends that patients with both migraines and vascular risk factors closely monitor the various lifestyle factors that have been linked to a heightened risk of stroke.
Silent brain injury—also known as silent brain infarction—is thought to be caused by the interruption of blood flow to brain tissue by a blood clot. Unlike a stroke, however, this so-called “silent stroke” is asymptomatic. This being the case, many sufferers of silent brain injury remain entirely unaware both that they have sustained damage to the brain and, in the process, incurred a heightened risk of experiencing a mini-stroke or major stroke in the future.
The study published in Stroke found that one of the most significant stroke risk factors, hypertension (high blood pressure), was more common in individuals suffering from migraines than in those without these headaches. While the entire scope of genetic and environmental factors that impact blood pressure has yet to be explored, it is well documented that the risk of developing hypertension rises as one ages. Moreover, there is ample evidence that primary hypertension can be strongly linked to dietary and lifestyle factors. Lack of exercise, a high-fat, high-salt, and/or low-nutrient diet, and alcohol consumption, for instance, can all contribute to high blood pressure.
Secondary hypertension—in which raised blood pressure can be linked to a specific cause—often stems from renal disease or one of a host of endocrine conditions. Additionally, however, such conditions as sleep apnea (which is also linked to migraines), obesity, and pregnancy, as well as certain medications and even excessive liquorice consumption, can bring about hypertension.
Although the study indicates a linkage between migraines and the stroke risk factor hypertension, the association between silent brain injury and migraine existed even in those patients who did not have elevated blood pressure. Comparing MRI images of 104 migraine sufferers and 442 non-sufferers across multiple ethnicities (including Hispanics and African-Americans, who are at an increased stroke risk), the researchers found that even after adjusting for other stroke risk factors, those with migraines still had double the risk of a silent brain injury than those without migraines.
For headache researchers, the connection between silent brain injury and migraines is a key area of interest, along with potentially related topics such as the underlying causes of migraines and relieving migraine headaches without drugs. While the authors of the present study stress that more research in this area is needed, their findings suggest that the timely treatment and prevention of migraines might play an important role in reducing one’s risk of experiencing silent cerebral infarction or stroke down the road.
At Rowe Neurology Institute, we have the most current diagnostic tools, and a staff of neurologists and integrated caregivers who specialize in diagnosing and treating headaches and migraines. We’ve treated literally tens of thousands of headache patients in the Kansas City region at our Headache Center. Take your life back from migraines. We’ll show you how.