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Migraines that start with flashing lights may increase the risk of an irregular heartbeat.
People with migraine headaches with visual symptoms, such as flashes of light, blurred vision or blind spots, are 30% more likely to have an irregular heartbeat than those who do not have a migraine. .
An irregular heartbeat can lead to a stroke, when blood clots begin in the heart and move to the brain.
Migraines that start with flashing lights may increase the risk of an irregular heartbeat
Women are three times more likely than men to suffer from migraines, which usually begin in early adulthood.
They affect about one in five women and one in 15 men, and a minority suffers from a visual "aura" before the onset of migraine.
The researchers tracked the medical records of nearly 12,000 people, of whom just over 1,500 had migraine headaches, 426 of which had visual symptoms.
They found that about nine out of every 1,000 people with visual migraines also had an irregular heartbeat, compared with only seven out of 1,000 people with migraine who had not seen aura before the attacks. .
Professor Souvik Sen, head of study at the University of South Carolina, said, "It is important to note that migraine sufferers with aura may be at increased risk for atrial fibrillation because of problems related to the autonomic nervous system, heart and blood vessels.
"Further research is needed to determine whether people with migraine with visual aura need to be screened for atrial fibrillation."
For the study, 11,939 people aged 60 and over were asked if they had ever suffered from migraine.
It is a headache of more than four hours, characterized by nagging or painful pulsation mainly on one side of the head, nausea or vomiting or sensitivity to sound and the light.
Of those who suffered from migraines, 426 reported visual symptoms, including blemishes and jagged lines.
Among this group, 18% developed an irregular heartbeat over the next 20 years, compared with 14% of migraine sufferers with no eye problems.
Of those without migraine, 17% developed an irregular heart rhythm, also known as atrial fibrillation.
Dr. Sen said: "As atrial fibrillation is a common source of stroke caused by blood clots, and previous research has shown a link between migraine with aura and attack, we wanted to see if the migraine sufferers with aura had atrial fibrillation.
The results show that every year, four out of every 1,000 people suffer a stroke if they have migraines with visual auras.
Twice less, twice a year, are stroke victims in people with non-visual migraines and three in 1,000 people who do not have migraine headaches.
If a migraine can cause an irregular heartbeat, it can trigger a stroke, because blood can accumulate in the heart, eventually forming clots that go to the brain.
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