Your head throbs. You feel nauseated. Light and sound make it worse. And it could last hours or days. This is not your normal headache — it’s a migraine.
Some scientists believe that migraines happen when blood vessels in the brain constrict — leading to oxygen deprivation — and then dilate, setting off the pain phase. Scientists have long wondered about a possible connection between migraines and other types of pain or disease related to blood vessels.
Kathryn Rose, research assistant professor in epidemiology, and colleagues conducted a study using data on migraines, chest pain, and coronary heart disease. They found that people suffering from migraines were more likely to report a history of angina, a type of chest pain often associated with coronary heart disease.
Some people, before a migraine, see zigzagging patterns and spots; this is called a visual aura. Other aura symptoms can include buzzing noises, odors not actually there, tingling, or numbness. In the study, Rose divided migraine sufferers into categories of those who experience visual auras and those who do not. People who experienced visual auras before their migraines were three times more likely to report chest pain. Scientists can’t explain the increased risk. “That’s still something that needs to be investigated,” Rose says.
While migraine sufferers were more likely to report chest pain, they did not have a higher occurrence of coronary heart disease. Should these findings reassure migraine sufferers with chest pain? “No,” Rose says. “People with headaches who experience chest pain should not ignore it, as it can be a symptom of a number of conditions, including coronary heart disease. While those with migraines were not at increased risk of heart disease, they had a rate of coronary heart disease similar to others without a history of migraines.” Factors such as age, gender, heredity, and lifestyle still put people at risk for heart disease.
Results came from standardized interviews, medical examinations, and yearly reviews of hospital records of almost 12,500 middle-aged participants in a broad study that examined plaque buildup and hardening of the arteries. Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC), organized by the Collaborative Studies Coordinating Center at Carolina, studies the disease in four communities across the United States, including one in Forsyth County, North Carolina. Rose is currently investigating migraines and diseases involving blood vessels in the eye, as well as migraines and stroke, among ARIC participants.
