Researchers in the Netherlands found that women with diastolic blood pressure over 84 had a 16% higher chance of having migraines.
“Our study looked at well-known risk factors for cardiovascular disease, such as diabetes, smoking, obesity and high cholesterol and found an increased odds of having migraine only in female participants with higher diastolic blood pressure” said study author, Dr. Antoinette Maassen van den Brink, of Erasmus MC University Medical Centre in Rotterdam.
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The study involved over 7,000 women and men with a median age of 67 years, with 15% having had previous or current migraine. All participants were subjected to physical exams, blood tests and questionnaires about their previous experience with migraine.
After accounting for various cardiovascular risk factors such as physical activity and education level, the researchers concluded that female participants with higher diastolic blood pressure had a 16% higher chance of having migraines - but this same association was not observed in men.
Dr Michael Long, Senior Headache Specialist at The National Migraine Centre, who was not involved in the study, said “migraine affects 1 in 5 females and is 3 times more common in females than males”. In regards to treatment, “we commonly use anti hypertensives as migraine preventatives. These include Propranolol and Candesartan which can be very effective for migraine prevention”.
“Sometimes an underlying cause or genetic factor might trigger the conditions,” said Steph Weatherley, Senior Information and Support Advisor at The Migraine Trust. “Comorbidities are of most significance when selecting a treatment to ensure both are treated in a way that does not negatively impact the other.”
Both migraine experts commented that more research is needed into the relationship between high blood pressure and migraine in women. “Migraine and hypertension are both very common. Therefore establishing any true link can be difficult” said Dr Long.
The study was recently published in the journal Neurology, and funded by the Dutch Research Council.