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People with a severe type of migraine in which one side of the body becomes weak should consider genetic testing, according to research that has found familial genes for this type of migraine in people who did not have family members experiencing the problem.

The findings are published in the December 4, 2007, issue of Neurology ?, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

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Studies are showing that women who are pregnant get a higher risk of heart diseases and other vascular conditions that can be quite risky which makes proper medical monitoring a vital part of the health check regimen. As statistics show, around 26% of all childbearing aged women suffer from migraines aged 35 to 39. Vascular diseases are also known to develop during pregnancy but the link between the two have not yet been undertaken hence the move to do so has been taken with a sizable group of test subjects to get a good data set. Read the rest of this entry »

Pregnant women who suffer from migraines have been found to be at greater risk of developing cardiovascular conditions during the course of their pregnancy. The study shows that they can suffer from heart disease, blood clots and high blood pressure and is of grave concern due to the fact that it greatly increases risks with childbearing. The chances of contracting heart conditions during pregnancy has been found to increase by more than 2% for women older than 40 with white women being more at risk. Migraines during pregnancy has been linked to a 15% increase in the risk of getting a stroke along with many other vascular conditions. Smoking, further complicates the situation, increasing the risks two fold. Pregnant women who have migraines should inform their doctor about the condition so measures to control vascular conditions can be taken.
Pregnant women should also inform their gynecologists so they could look out for trouble signs should complications arise that can endanger the child and mother.

Image Source: www.apps.uwhealth.org

For some, migraines are infrequent. On the other side of the spectrum are people who have frequent recurrences and whose lives can be debilitated by pain. Fortunately, progress is being made in migraine management. Although an individualized treatment approach is often necessary, most people can be helped.

Migraine headaches are severe, usually one- sided headaches that often occur with nausea, vomiting, and extreme sensitivity to light or sound. People often describe migraine headaches as throbbing or piercing. The pain may range from mild to terribly severe.

Although migraine headaches are usually one- sided, there may be pain on both sides of the head. In some people, the pain may switch sides each time they have a migraine.

Migraine headaches sometimes occur with an aura, a group of symptoms that usually develop 5 to 30 minutes before a migraine begins. Visual disturbances, such as flashing lights, distortion, in the size or shape of objects, or blind or dark spots in your field of vision are the most common symptoms of an aura.