Migraine Tied to Perioperative Stroke Risk 30-day ischemic stroke risk higher for those with migraine with aura

Migraine patients had nearly twice the risk of an ischemic stroke within the first month after surgery than those without the headache disorder, researchers reported. That risk was higher for those who had migraine with aura, but was elevated regardless of whether patients had aura or not (aOR 2.61 and aOR 1.62, respectively), Matthias Eikermann, MD, PhD, of Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), and colleagues reported online in The BMJ. "There are 60 million surgeries every year, and the baseline stroke risk is one in 1,000," Eikermann told MedPage Today. "If migraine [with aura] increases that risk almost three-fold ... you're talking about thousands of strokes each year. This is a relevant observation that needs to be explored further." Richard Lipton, MD, of Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, a migraine specialist who was not involved in the study, called it "well-designed" and suggested that migraineurs needing surgery should not panic about the findings. http://www.medpagetoday.com/Neurology/Strokes/62453?xid=nl_mpt_DHE_2017-01-11&eun=g721819d0r&pos=3