Does blood pressure affect your risk of migraine?

A recent study of 7,266 men and women with an average age of 67 years looked at how cardiovascular diseases such as smoking, obesity, high cholesterol, and diabetes are related to the development of migraines.

Fifteen percent of participants had previously or currently suffered from migraines. All participants provided blood samples and underwent physical examinations.

After adjusting for various risk factors and education level, the researchers found that women with higher diastolic blood pressure were 16% more likely to suffer from migraines.

No association was found between migraine and cardiovascular disease in the men in this study.

There was no association with systolic blood pressure (the maximum pressure in the arteries while the heart is beating), which is measured by multiplying systolic and diastolic blood pressure.

Marsen van den Brink suggested that this was consistent with the idea that constriction of small blood vessels, rather than impaired functioning of large blood vessels, is associated with migraines.

Stephen Older, MDA neurological consultant at Re:Cognition Health, who was not involved in the study, said: Today's Medical News This study certainly supports this notion.

“The theory that migraines are related to poor small vessel function is supported by this study, which found an association between elevated diastolic blood pressure, which is associated with small vessel function, and migraines,” Older said.

“This is in contrast to the lack of association with systolic blood pressure, which is an indication of large vessel function. This theory is consistent with other studies suggesting that migraine involves changes in the brain's microvasculature.”

– Stephen Older, MD

Cheng-Han Chen, MD“The results are encouraging,” said Dr. Gregory, medical director of the structural heart program at MemorialCare Saddleback Medical Center in Laguna Hills, California, a board-certified interventional cardiologist who was not involved in the study. MNT Ultimately, further research is needed to clarify the link between cardiovascular health and migraine.

“In this study, we looked at the relationship between multiple cardiovascular risk factors and the development of migraines, but we found no clear association,” he explained. “This suggests that traditional cardiovascular risk factors are not the cause of migraines, as previously suspected.”

“While this study found a specific association between elevated diastolic blood pressure and migraines in women, the data overall do not support a definitive link between blood pressure and migraines,” Chen cautioned.

“Previous studies have linked migraine to the development of cardiovascular disease, but at present the relationship between cardiovascular risk factors and migraine remains unclear,” he noted.

Paper published in NeuroscienceA study published in 2022 found that the global prevalence of migraines is 20.7% in women and 9.7% in men, citing “differences in brain structure, genetic polymorphisms, and neural pathways,” as well as hormonal differences, could explain the disparity.

According to Maassen van den Brink, the lack of association between cardiovascular disease risk and migraine occurrence in men was due to the small number of men included in the study.

She added that studies in younger people may help uncover further differences by gender.

Both Chen and Older noted that overall, the prevalence of migraines is low among men.

“One possible reason could be hormonal differences that could affect both blood pressure regulation and the occurrence of migraines,” Alder suggested. “The low number of male participants with migraines may also be a contributing factor.” [also] Power to detect associations in men is limited.”

“Gender differences in lifestyle, behavior and response to cardiovascular risk factors may also play a role,” he further noted.

Cheng shared a similar view, saying:

“The difference in results between men and women may be related to the overall lower prevalence of migraine in men, and this study was underpowered to detect potential associations. It is also possible that sex hormones underlie the pathophysiological mechanisms of migraine, resulting in the difference in prevalence between men and women.”

“The theory that small blood vessel/microvascular dysfunction plays a role in the development of migraine headaches is supported by our findings showing an association between elevated diastolic blood pressure and migraine headaches in women,” Chen said.

“However, much more research is needed to elucidate the mechanisms behind such associations,” he cautioned.