AHA/ASA member of the Stroke Council research committee and others and a volunteer expert, Karen L. Furie, M.D. MPH, offers perspective (via Zoom) on ISC 20 presentation WMP117. She oversees the clinical research programs for the Norman Prince Neurosciences Institute and is chief of neurology at Rhode Island Hospital, The Miriam Hospital and Bradley Hospital. She serves as chair of the Department of Neurology at The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University in Providence, RI.
copyright American Heart Association 

"Well I think it's looking at a very important question. About 30 million people in the U.S. suffer from migraine, so it's a very common disorder, and there's a well established literature that suggests that people with migraine, especially migraine with aura, are at an increased risk for stroke and so many people are concerned about this particular question. In this study they were examining an older population. Much of the literature on migraine with aura and stroke risk is based on data from people who are less than 45 years of age but they identified people in ARIC who were in their 50's and then followed them for as long as 20 years to see what their stroke risk was, and this is important because the actual underlying pathophysiology that links migraine to stroke is not well established and so by focusing on this older population they were able to show that risk factors actually contribute significantly to stroke risk, particularly in later life. And it reemphasizes the message that stroke risk modification is critical to reducing stroke risk."