Frequency of migraine and the risk of cardiovascular disease for women: Limited evidence of an association

Evaluation of: Kurth T, Schurks M, Logroscino G et al. Migraine frequency and risk of cardiovascular disease in women. Neurology 73, 581-588 (2009). There is substantial evidence that migraine with aura (MA) is associated with ischemic stroke and myocardial infarction in women. The mechanisms of this association are poorly understood. Analysis of data from the Women's Health Study, from 27,798 women over 45 years of age who were initially free of cardiovascular disease, found that women with baseline MA at a frequency of less than monthly had increased risk of major cardiovascular disease (HR: 2.28; 95% CI: 1.70-3.07) relative to women without migraine, and those who reported MA with a frequency of more than weekly had more than four-times the risk of ischemic stroke (HR: 4.25; 95% CI: 1.36-13.29) compared with those without migraine. Low numbers of outcome events in each of the frequency categories and lack of information on migraine frequency during follow-up limit the interpretation of these findings, but they suggest that frequency of migraine may be a moderating factor in the link between MA and cardiovascular disease.