Millions of people suffer from near-constant migraines that can be so debilitating that they are forced to miss work and cancel plans.
And while the neurological condition can be serious enough on its own, it could also be a sign of a dangerous health problem that people may not know they have.
Researchers in the Netherlands found that migraines in women, but not men, were associated with high blood pressure, and people with hypertension were at least 16 percent more likely to also suffer from migraines.
The team suggested that migraines and blood pressure might be linked because high blood pressure can reduce blood flow in small blood vessels.
This can reduce the supply of oxygen to brain cells and trigger a migraine attack.
High blood pressure, which affects 120 million Americans, has also been linked to a host of other health problems, including strokes and heart attacks, because higher blood pressure can increase the risk of blood clots in the brain and damage blood vessels.
High blood pressure may increase migraine risk, study finds (stock)
More than 39 million Americans suffer from migraines each year, which can be treated with medications and lifestyle changes to avoid possible triggers.
It’s not clear what causes them (severe headaches with throbbing or aching sensations), but high blood pressure is one of the leading theories.
The researchers said their results do not show that all people with high blood pressure suffer from migraines, only that this may be a possible trigger for the condition.
And while the team did not recommend that people with migraine regularly check their blood pressure, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommends checking it at least once a year for people over age 40.
For the study, published in the magazine NeurologyThe researchers analyzed data from 7,266 people who had an average age of 67.
Of these, 15 percent said they had previously experienced a migraine.
All participants completed a physical exam, blood tests, and filled out a questionnaire about their migraine frequency.
After adjusting for risk factors such as physical activity and education level, the researchers found that female participants with higher diastolic blood pressure were also more likely to have migraines.
Diastolic blood pressure is the lower of the numbers between the two readings and represents the pressure in your arteries between heartbeats.
Systolic blood pressure, on the other hand, is the top number and represents the pressure in your arteries during your heartbeat.
A healthy blood pressure for most adults is about 120/80 millimeters of mercury (mmHg).
The researchers did not find a similar link between migraine and high blood pressure among men, but said this could be because few men were included in the study.
Dr Antoinette Maassen van den Brink, a pharmacologist at Erasmus MC who led the research, said: ‘Previous research shows that migraine is linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular events such as stroke, heart disease and heart attack, but less is known about how risk factors for cardiovascular events relate to migraine.
‘Our study looked at well-known risk factors for cardiovascular disease, such as diabetes, smoking, obesity and high cholesterol, and found increased odds of migraine only in female participants with higher diastolic blood pressure.’
The team also looked at how smoking and diabetes might be linked to migraines.
Researchers found that smokers had a 28 percent lower risk of migraine, and diabetics had a 26 percent lower risk.
Dr Maassen said: ‘These results should be interpreted with caution as they do not prove that smoking causes a lower risk of migraine.
‘Instead, smoking can trigger migraine attacks, and therefore people who choose to smoke are less likely to suffer from migraines.’
Previous research has suggested that nicotine from cigarettes may have an analgesic, or pain-reducing, effect, reducing the risk of migraine, while diabetics may be taking blood pressure-lowering medication, which also reduces the risk.
However, both conditions prevent small blood vessels from dilating or enlarging, which reduces blood flow and increases the risk of migraines.
