Migraineurs More Prone To Blood Clots
As if we didn’t have enough trouble already, a new Italian study has come out warning migraineurs that they may be more suseptable to devloping blood clots in their veins than non-migraineurs. Blood clots are potentially lethal and only things you wish on your worst enemies — or even casual enemies. The study’s results have come out in the September 16 issue of Neurology.
Study Summary
In case you let your susbscription to Neurology lapse, don’t panic. Here’s what you need to know. The study had 574 human guinea pigs participating, all over the age of 55. Only 111 had been diagnosed with migraines. All of the human guinea pigs had their necks and thighs scanned with ultrasounds to see if they had hardening of the arteries. They also had their medical histories taken into account. 19% of the migraineur group had venus thrombosis, while only 8% of the non-migraineurs did.
Although the study shrugs its shoulders about why migraineurs would have more blood clots, they do say that they doubt that migraineurs get hardening (or narrowing)of the arteries more often than other people. That migraineurs are prone to hardening of the arteries is a theory that has never been proven, not even in this study.
I almost lost my Mom to a blood clot back in 2006. She began having migraines when she was 24. She shook on a warm day, she was having trouble figuring out what was going on and she complained of pain in her chest and spreading up her neck to her jaw. She had a blood clot in her leg which dislodged and got caught in her lung. I called an ambulance immediately and they arrived incredibly quickly.
No Big Surprise
This finding shouldn’t come as any major surprise to those with migraines or living with someone with migraines. There have recently been studies centering on women’s heart problems and migraines. Women with migraines are more prone to strokes and heart attacks.
It’s not clear yet why migraines would affect circulation. Of course, when you are in agony, your heart does pound. It is also unknown whether medications that migraineurs take may be affecting their cirulation system. There’s a lot of “if”s at the moment.
Ressurecting Old Theory
One of the theories about the causes of migraines is that blood vessels are dialating and constricting. However, this is considered an old, outdated theory, but not by everyone. There are still plenty of doctors who advocate it.
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