A common medication used to treat high blood pressure and prevent migraines may help reduce the risk of stroke in women who suffer from migraines.
This finding comes from a large new study.
The drug, called propranolol, is a beta blocker. Doctors often prescribe it to manage high blood pressure, heart problems, and migraine headaches.
Migraines affect about three times more women than men. They can cause severe headaches, nausea, and sensitivity to light and sound. Some people also experience what’s called an “aura” — strange sensations like flashing lights, blurred vision, or tingling in the body just before the headache begins.
Previous studies have shown that people with migraines, especially women, may have a higher risk of stroke. However, scientists still don’t fully understand how to lower that risk.
In this new research, scientists wanted to see if propranolol, which is already used to prevent migraines, could also lower the chance of stroke. They focused on a specific type of stroke called an ischemic stroke, which happens when a blood vessel that supplies blood to the brain gets blocked. This is the most common type of stroke.
To carry out the study, researchers looked at over 3 million electronic health records from two large databases. They focused on people who had migraines and checked whether they later had a stroke or not. Then they looked at whether those people had taken propranolol to prevent migraines. They separated their results by sex and looked at people with and without aura.
After carefully analyzing the data, the researchers found something striking: women who took propranolol for migraines had a much lower risk of ischemic stroke than women who didn’t take it. In one group of patients, the stroke risk was reduced by 52%. In the other group, the risk was lowered by 39%.
The benefit was strongest in women who had migraines without aura. However, there was no sign that propranolol helped lower stroke risk in men.
This result is important for several reasons. First, many women suffer from migraines, and some do not have access to newer migraine treatments due to cost or availability. Propranolol is a well-known and relatively affordable drug.
It’s already used to treat both high blood pressure and migraines. Now, this study suggests that it may offer an extra benefit by lowering the risk of stroke in women with migraines, especially those without aura.
The study’s lead author, Dr. Mulubrhan Mogos from Vanderbilt University School of Nursing, explained that migraine is often overlooked as a risk factor for stroke, especially in women. He also pointed out that women from less privileged backgrounds may suffer more from migraines due to lack of access to care, and that using affordable treatments like propranolol could help close the health gap.
Dr. Tracy Madsen, a stroke expert from the University of Vermont who was not part of the study, said the findings were promising. She noted that we already know beta blockers like propranolol can lower stroke risk in people with high blood pressure.
What’s exciting here is the added benefit for women who have migraines. She also stressed the importance of studying men and women separately, since risk factors and responses to treatment can be different between the sexes.
That said, there are some limits to this study. It was based on a review of past health records, not a new clinical trial. This kind of research depends on accurate record-keeping and coding, which isn’t always perfect.
For example, the diagnosis of migraine or stroke may be misclassified in some cases. Also, while the researchers tried to adjust for things like age, health conditions, and hormone use (such as birth control or pregnancy), other hidden factors could still affect the results.
The study used data from two major sources. One database, from Vanderbilt University Medical Center, includes medical records for over 3 million people, mainly from one region.
The other database, part of the U.S. National Institutes of Health’s “All of Us” program, includes more than 230,000 people from many backgrounds across the country. The differences in who was included in each group may explain why the amount of stroke risk reduction varied between them.
Overall, this study offers hopeful news for women living with migraines, especially those without aura. If confirmed by future studies, propranolol could be used not just to prevent painful headaches, but also to lower the chance of having a serious stroke.
For now, women with migraines should talk to their doctors about the risks and benefits of propranolol and whether it might be a good option for them.
If you care about stroke, please read studies about how to eat to prevent stroke, and diets high in flavonoids could help reduce stroke risk.
For more health information, please see recent studies about how Mediterranean diet could protect your brain health, and wild blueberries can benefit your heart and brain.
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