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Wijeratne T, Wijeratne C, Korajkic N, Bird S, Sales C, Riederer F. Secondary headaches - red and green flags and their significance for diagnostics. eNeurologicalSci 2023; 32:100473. [PMID: 37456555 PMCID: PMC10339125 DOI: 10.1016/j.ensci.2023.100473] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2022] [Revised: 04/22/2023] [Accepted: 06/28/2023] [Indexed: 07/18/2023] Open
Abstract
A small percentage of patients suffer from a secondary headache syndrome. It is imperative that clinicians are able to differentiate primary headache syndromes from secondary headache syndromes, as failure to do so significantly worsens morbidity and mortality. Recent advances in our understanding of pathobiological mechanisms offer useful information on these enigmatic disorders. We now understand that the causes of secondary headache syndromes can vary significantly - these may be infectious, inflammatory, vascular, traumatic or structural in origin. A well-taken history and targeted physical examination coupled with appropriate investigations can enable these syndromes to be recognized consistently and thus allow their timely and appropriate treatment. Along with their epidemiology, some of their key characteristics shall thus be discussed in this review so as to aid the busy clinician at the bedside. Red flags including sudden onset, high pain intensity, pattern of change of a preexisting headache, focal neurological signs or seizure, systemic signs and precipitation by physical activity can guide the clinician to suspect a secondary headache. Importantly a preexisting headache is not an exclusion of a secondary headache - it might even be a predisposition in certain cases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tissa Wijeratne
- School of Psychology and Public Health, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia
- Department of Neurology, Western Health & University Melbourne, AIMSS, Level Three, WHCRE, Sunshine Hospital, St Albans 3021, Australia
- Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Rajarata, Saliyapura, Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka
| | - Chanith Wijeratne
- Monash Medical School, Clayton, Victoria, Australia
- Migraine Foundation & Australian Institute of Migraine, 522, Bell Street, Pascoe Vale South, Victoria, Australia
| | - Nadja Korajkic
- Department of Neurology, Western Health & University Melbourne, AIMSS, Level Three, WHCRE, Sunshine Hospital, St Albans 3021, Australia
| | - Stefanie Bird
- Department of Neurology, Western Health & University Melbourne, AIMSS, Level Three, WHCRE, Sunshine Hospital, St Albans 3021, Australia
- Migraine Foundation & Australian Institute of Migraine, 522, Bell Street, Pascoe Vale South, Victoria, Australia
| | - Carmela Sales
- Department of Neurology, Western Health & University Melbourne, AIMSS, Level Three, WHCRE, Sunshine Hospital, St Albans 3021, Australia
| | - Franz Riederer
- Department of Neurology, Clinic Hietzing and Karl Landsteiner Institute for Clinical Epilepsy Research and Cognitive Neurology, Vienna, Austria
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Zurich, Switzerland
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Chiang MC, Dumitrascu OM, Chhabra N, Chiang CC. Migraine with Visual aura and the Risk of Stroke- a Narrative Review. J Stroke Cerebrovasc Dis 2021; 30:106067. [PMID: 34461446 DOI: 10.1016/j.jstrokecerebrovasdis.2021.106067] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2021] [Revised: 07/20/2021] [Accepted: 08/15/2021] [Indexed: 10/20/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Patients with migraine with visual aura (MwvA) often present to eye care providers for evaluation. A thorough ophthalmological history and examination is needed to exclude ophthalmologic disorders. Additionally, it has been increasingly recognized that MwvA is associated with ischemic stroke (IS). The aim of this narrative review is to provide a comprehensive overview of the differential diagnosis of MwvA and its association with IS. MATERIALS AND METHODS We conducted a PubMed search using key words including "migraine aura", "visual aura without headache", "late onset migraine accompaniment", "migraine and stroke", "migraine and atrial fibrillation", and "migraine and patent foramen ovale (PFO)". We narratively summarized the main findings of the identified studies in sections including age of onset and frequency of migraine with aura, stroke subtypes, and the role of cardioembolism in the migraine-stroke association. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION For women younger than 50 years, MwvA is associated with an increased risk of IS, and the risk further increases in patients who also smoke and use oral contraceptives. Age of onset of MwvA 50 years or greater is associated with IS that occurs in late life. Studies reported that increased frequency of aura is associated with an increased risk of IS in women. MwvA is associated with an increased risk of cardioembolic stroke and a higher incidence of atrial fibrillation compared to migraine without aura. Most studies that assessed the migraine-stroke association were based on patients with MwvA. The risks of stroke associated with other types of migraine aura or aura without headache, as well as such association in men require further investigation. More data is needed to determine the absolute risk of stroke when evaluating MwvA in situations including smoking and low dose estrogen use, new or late onset (>50 years) MwvA, to facilitate the development of practice guidelines for stroke prevention in specific clinical scenarios.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meng-Chun Chiang
- Department of Ophthalmology, Mackay Memorial Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
| | | | - Nikita Chhabra
- Department of Neurology, Mayo Clinic, Scottsdale, AZ, USA.
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Abstract
Cervicocerebral artery dissection (CAD) is one of the more frequent causes of stroke in young adults with rates of up to 25%. Predisposing and risk factors for CAD are very different, and an etiological classification is based on the presence of a previous minor or major trauma, differentiating traumatic from spontaneous CAD. Headache represents one of the main initial symptoms for this pathological condition, probably due to the release of pro-inflammatory neurotransmitters from nerve terminals near the injured vessel. For its peculiar characteristics, the headache due to CAD has been defined with specific ICHD-3 criteria. In many cases, headache is associated with other signs related to the dissection or cerebral ischemia. In this systematic review of literature, headache was reported in more than 70% of cases with CAD with a prevalence in vertebrobasilar dissections. More than half of patients suffered a severe pain that was usually located in fronto-temporal and occipito-nuchal regions in the case of dissections in the anterior and posterior circulation, respectively. For the high stroke risk, CAD has to be promptly diagnosed with MRI or CTA and treated with anticoagulants or antithrombotics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simone Vidale
- Department of Neurology, Infermi Hospital, Viale Luigi Settembrini, Rimini, Italy.
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