Migraine May Increase Smokers’ Risk of Stroke

The data appear to suggest that vascular changes in migraine are an important subclinical vascular marker for stroke and combined vascular events among active smokers. Because smoking may be common among migraineurs, the authors recommended that smoking cessation counseling be encouraged as a part of routine migraine care throughout the patient’s lifetime. “The identification of modifiable vascular risk factors and treatments may have beneficial outcomes for stroke reduction in the elderly population with migraine,” they concluded.

—Erik Greb