An Italian study carried out on 574-people aged 55-years and older reveals migraine sufferers are at risk of potentially fatal blood clots in the veins, blood clots that can dislodge travelling to the heart and lungs. Of the study participants, 111-were found to be suffering from migraines for the past 5-years.  Along with a review of their medical records, they also underwent high resolution ultrasounds, a scan for atherosclerosis or hardening of the arteries.  As compared, of a total of 21 people with migraine, 35-people without had one or more instances of venous thrombosis.  Further, contrary to the current theory, the study revealed migraine sufferers were not more likely to suffer from arteriosclerosis or hardening or narrowing of the arteries, compared to others.

However, the link between migraine and venous thrombosis or thromboembolism remains unclear.  And, according to the study that appears in the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, migraine sufferers could be proned to clotting of the blood.

Study author, Stefan Kiechl of Innsbruck Medical University in Austria, believes because migraine sufferers appear more likely to have strokes and other cardiovascular problems, the belief subsisted that they would also suffer from more severe and early atherosclerosis.  However, high-resolution ultrasounds used in the study provide solid evidence, refuting the earlier stand.

Increasingly, studies over the past decade show an increased risk of stroke amongst those suffering from migraines, especially those with a migraine sub-type known as migraine with aura, which may be linked to gene mutation associated with blood clots, known as the Factor V Leiden mutation.

There are 23-million Americans who suffer from migraines, of which three out of four have been found to be women.