Considering that a whole eight million people in the UK – three quarters of whom are women, btw – struggle with migraines, it’s pretty ridiculous that there’s a bit of an odd stigma around them.
It’s not uncommon for those who complain about migraines to be told to pipe down because ‘it’s probably just a headache, pop a couple of paracetamol’. At the same time though, I know that I’ve struggled with working out what a migraine actually is in the past, and I know I definitely can’t be the only one who doesn’t always know what to look out for.
A study led by specialists at Harvard Medical School examined more than 115,000 women over the course of 20 years and found that those who struggled with migraines were 50 percent more likely to develop major heart problems, reports the Mail. Which is a pretty significant figure.
You might already be aware of the link between migraines and strokes, particularly if you’ve spoken to your nurse or GP about taking a contraceptive pill. But these new findings are amongst only a few that have linked migraines to wider heart issues.
In the British Medical Journal the researchers explained that their evidence suggests that migraines ‘should be considered an important risk marker for cardiovascular disease, at least in women.’
Before you panic too much though, Rebecca Burch from Harvard Medical School and Melissa Rayhill from the State University of New York at Buffalo have said that on an individual level women were at a pretty low risk. They said: 'It is small at the level of the individual patient, but still important at a population level because migraine is so prevalent.'
It all sounds a bit scary, we know. But the as they explained, chances are you’re not at particular risk. But as we’ve all heard time and time again – it’s better safe than sorry, right? So if you think your headache is more than just a headache or you’re a bit worried about your migraines, it’s probably best to go chat to your GP about it instead piling up on paracetamol and hoping for the best.
And if you’re still a bit confused about what the hell a migraine is, we've spoken about how to tell one from a headache on The Debrief here, and of course the good old NHS website has all of the handy important information that you might need too.
Like this? You might also be interested in…
How To Give Yourself A Massage At Home Because, Hell, You're Worth It
Follow Jazmin on Instagram @JazKopotsha
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.