High Cholesterol Linked to Migraine with Aura

by Dr. Alexander Mauskop

Having migraines with aura increases the risk of having increased total cholesterol and triglycerides.

This was found to be the case in a population-based study of 1,155 older people (average age 69) presented by Dr. Tobias Kurth at the International Headache Congress in Berlin.

Although only 23 had migraines with aura the statistical data seems strong enough to warrant this conclusion.

Having migraine with aura carried a six-fold increase in the risk of having abnormal levels of lipids. It is an established fact that people suffering from migraine with aura are at slightly higher risk of strokes and heart disease but the reason for this association is not known.

It is possible that elevated cholesterol and triglycerides in those with migraine with aura lead to cholesterol deposits and clogging of the arteries. It is important to screen all older patients with migraine with aura for abnormal lipid levels.

They also need to exercise and try to control other risk factors for strokes and coronary artery disease, such as high blood pressure, high blood glucose, obesity, and smoking.

Alexander Mauskop MD, FAAN, Associate Professor of Neurology at SUNY – Downstate Medical Center, is the Director and founder of the New York Headache Center. Dr. Mauskop is board-certified in Neurology with subspecialty certification in Headache Medicine. He has delivered over 400 scientific presentations and lectures and is a reviewer for the New England Journal of Medicine, Neurology, Headache, and several other medical journals. For the past 21 years, has been the Director of an annual educational symposium for physicians. Over 200 doctors from around the world have visited the New York Headache Center to learn advanced treatment techniques.

Dr. Mauskop is the author of Migraine and Headache (Oxford American Pain Library) and What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Migraines: The Breakthrough Program That Can Help End Your Pain.

He has repeatedly been chosen as one of New York magazine’s Best Doctors in New York, as one of New York Times Magazine’s, “Super Doctors” and as Castle and Connolly’s “Best Doctors”. Dr. Mauskop has appeared on television shows including Tom Brokaw’s News Hour, Extra, and PBS specials, and he has been featured in Vogue, O Magazine, and many other publications. He has given lectures at the medical schools of Cornell, Harvard, Columbia, NYU and Dartmouth, and at the Mayo Clinic and Cleveland Clinic.