Migraine sufferers prone to leg clots: Study

Researchers had thought that people who get migraines were more prone to a buildup of fatty deposits in the arteries, but Dr. Stefan Kiechl of Innsbruck Medical University in Austria said that is likely not the case.

Kiechl and colleagues studied 574 people in Italy who were 55 or older. They took ultrasound images of their necks and thighs to look for hardening of the arteries.

Some 111 of those were migraine sufferers, and among these, 19 per cent had one or more leg clots compared with just 8 per cent in the migraine-free group.

Leg clots, also known as deep vein thrombosis, cause pain and swelling and can prove deadly if they break off and travel to the heart or lungs.

The researchers said it is not clear why people who get migraines are at higher risk for such clots.

What is clear is that they are not more likely to have atherosclerosis, or narrowing of the arteries, brought on by a build-up of fatty plaques.

8220;The thinking has been that because people with migraine are more likely to have strokes and other cardiovascular problems, that they would also have more severe and early atherosclerosis,8221; Kiechl said in a statement.

8220;This study is the first use of high-resolution ultrasound to examine this theory, and it provides solid evidence to refute it,8221; he said.

8220;It8217;s a really interesting new finding that we have not been aware of before,8221; said Dr. Rose Dotson of Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Cleveland, Ohio, who was not part of the study.

She said the study would likely change the way she evaluates patients, especially younger women who have migraines with an aura, a group thought to be at higher risk for strokes.

8220;We8217;ll be looking for those clotting abnormalities,8221; she said in a telephone interview.