Study shows that Migraine sufferers are at higher risk of stroke after surgery

A new study has shown that patients who suffer migraines are highly likely to have a stroke with few weeks after surgery than those without the headache disorder.

Matthias Eikermann, MD, PhD, of Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), and colleagues reported that the risk is higher among patients who suffer migraines "with aura" - warning signs such as seeing flashing lights but was elevated regardless of whether patients had aura or not (aOR 2.61 and aOR 1.62, respectively).

Experts at Harvard Medical School in the US say migraines should be factored in when surgeons are assessing a patient's risk of stroke.

A research team from the United States, Denmark and Germany examined the records of 124558 surgical patients at Massachusetts General Hospital and two affiliated community satellite hospitals between January 2007 and August 2014.

Around 10,000 were known to suffer from migraines - of whom 12.6 per cent suffered migraines with aura.

Out of the 124,558 patients, 771 patients representing (0.6 percent) suffered a stroke within 30 days of surgery.

Just over eight percent (10,179) of the surgery group had a history of migraine, compared to 11.5 percent (89) of the 771 who suffered a stroke.

The researchers calculated the risk of stroke and found that patients with migraines were at increased risk of stroke around the time of surgery at 2.4 attacks for every 1,000 surgeries, a number which rose to 4.3 in 1,000 for migraine patients.

The risk was highest at 6.3 for those those whose migraine had an aura, and 3.9 for migraine without aura which is described as flashing lights or other warning signals experienced before an attack.

The researchers also found that patients who suffered from migraines were more likely to be readmitted to hospital.

"Given the high prevalence of migraine in the general population, the migraine-perioperative ischemic stroke association carries public health importance," they wrote.

"Physicians should be aware of this increased perioperative risk, particularly in patients with migraine who present without traditional risk factors for stroke."

The study was published in the British Medical Journal.

Press Association