Syncope in Migraine

This study supports the longstanding view that migraine and syncope are associated and raises important questions for future research.

Migraine has long been associated both with syncope and with alterations of the autonomic nervous system (see Headache 2004; 44:53 and Neurology 1975; 25:430). Thijs and colleagues present important new data on these associations from a Dutch population study, Cerebral Abnormalities in Migraine, an Epidemiologic Risk Analysis (CAMERA). The researchers randomly selected 323 adults (ages 20–60) with migraine (174 with aura) and 153 controls free of severe headache and matched for place of residence, age, and sex. The participants underwent interviews about syncope and related symptoms, as well as physical exams including blood pressure measurements at rest and after orthostatic changes.

The migraine group was significantly more likely than the…

Reviewing Author

Richard B. Lipton, MD