Women's Health
Migraines linked to high blood pressure after menopause
Research we're watching
Is there a link between migraine headaches and high blood pressure (hypertension)? A study published online April 21, 2021, by Neurology found a connection. Researchers set out to determine if women who have had migraines were more likely to develop hypertension after menopause. They looked at 56,202 postmenopausal French women who were part of the French E3N cohort, a tracking project that began in 1990 to provide data for studies of lifestyle and disease. None of the women had high blood pressure or cardiovascular disease at the start of the study. The researchers asked women in a series of surveys if they had migraine headaches or hypertension. After controlling for migraine medications and lifestyle factors that could affect cardiovascular risk, the researchers found that high blood pressure was more common in women who had migraines than in those who did not.
Image: © fizkes/Getty ImagesAbout the Author
Kelly Bilodeau, Former Executive Editor, Harvard Women's Health Watch
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