Papers of the Week

Migraine is associated with ischemic stroke. Women are 3-fold as likely as men to have migraine, and high estrogen states increase the risk of migraine with aura (MWA), venous thromboembolism (VTE), and of stroke. We review the epidemiological and mechanistic evidence of the migraine-stroke relationship and its risk factors, with a focus on women and conditions that exclusively or predominantly affect them.  METHODS: We performed a search of MEDLINE/PubMed database, then a narrative review of the epidemiological evidence of the migraine-stroke relationship as well as the evidence for arterial, thrombophilic, and cardiac mechanisms to explain this connection. We examine the implications of this evidence for the diagnostic evaluation and treatment of MWA.