Other than emergencies, remember to consult your doctor whenever your Migraine patterns change. Since the symptoms exhibited by Migraine attacks can also be the symptoms of other conditions, it's important to check with our doctors to be sure they are actually Migraine symptoms.
Now is the time to talk to your doctor about risk factors for stroke. Find out what risk factors you have and what lifestyle modifications you can make to help prevent strokes. You can also find helpful information about stroke prevention at the web site of the American Stroke Association. Education is a vital part of our medical care. Therefore, we need to know about the increased stroke risk associated with Migraine. Now that we do, rather than letting it make us fearful, let's use it to motivate us to evaluate our lifestyles. Are they as healthy as they should be? How can we modify our lifestyles to reduce the risk of stroke, heart disease, diabetes, and other diseases? Let's take this opportunity to make our lives better. Lifestyle changes aren't easy, but they can be very beneficial to say the least. One way to make them easier and to make it more likely that we'll stick with difficult changes is to discuss the changes with others who are making similar changes. If you'd like to have such a discussion, our forum is an excellent place to find people who understand and are in similar situations. We may have Migraine disease, but let's work to control it rather than letting it control us.
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Resources:
1 Etminan, Mahar; Takkouche, Bahi; Isorna, Francisco Caamaño; Samii, Ali. "Risk of ischaemic stroke in people with migraine: systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies." BMJ, doi:10.1136/bmj.38302.504063.8F. December 13, 2004.
2 "Migraines 'double' risk of stroke." BBC News UK Edition. December 13, 2004.
3 Interview with Dr. Fred Sheftell. December, 2004.
© Teri Robert, 2004 - Present
Last updated April 11, 2008.
