Is There Such A Thing As A Vascular Migraine?
Recently, I had a client ask me if I was interested in doing a series of articles on vascular migraines. (Remember, I’m not a doctor –I just know too much.) I’d never heard of vascular migraines. I am familiar with the now mostly shelved theory that migraines are caused by blood vessels ( the vascular system) expanding and contracting. (It’s not thought that migraines are caused by chemical imbalances, but no one is 100% sure).
There are also a lot of health websites out there that claim that migraines are “vascular headaches”. Huh?
Migraines and Headaches
Migraines are different from headaches in that the pain is one side of the head, while in a headache, both halves of the head are unhappy. Migraines also can involve auras or other crippling symptoms like extreme senitivity to light, dizziness and writing blogs about migraines and headaches. (OK I made that last one up).
But many doctors and nuerologists do make a distinction between headaches and migraines.
In Conclusion
In my research on migraines over the years, I haven’t found anything to support the idea that vascular migraines exist. Vascular headaches could be a whole other story. There are two reasons why some doctors still think that blood vessels play a big part in migraines:
- Beta-blockers that lower blood pressure like verapamil taken daily can often reduce the number of migraines a migrainuer gets
- Migraineurs are more prone to getting stroke or “mini-strokes” than people who don’t get migraines.
However, many people with migraines also have either epilepsy or clinical depression. All three of these have one similarity (other than they all suck) — the chemical serotonin. Antidepressants like SSRIs can sometimes help migraineurs — even if they aren’t depressed.
It’s enough to give you a migraine, isn’t it?
Leave a Reply