Severe migraine sufferers ‘should be given statins’

STATINS should be given to people who suffer severe migraines, an expert has proposed.

People who experience an ‘aura’ of flashing lights or confusing thoughts before a migraine hits should be considered for the cholesterol-busting drugs, according to an editorial in the British Journal of General Practice.

Migraines affect around a fifth of women and about one in 15 men; around 30 per cent of sufferers have warning signs in the hour before one.

Evidence now suggests people who experience such aura migraines, especially women, are at increased risk of strokes and heart disease.

Dr David Kernick says anyone struck by the debilitating headaches should be considered for statins, used to tackle cardiovascular disease.

Even young sufferers and those hit relatively infrequently should be assessed for the drug, he said, despite concerns about side-effects. Statins are taken by more than seven million people in the UK and changes to guidelines last year mean another ten million are now eligible.

Dr Kernick, a GP at the St Thomas Health Centre in Exeter, said the threshold should be lowered further for the four in every 100 people who report aura migraines.

He said a ‘pragmatic approach’ should be used in calculating risks of heart disease or stroke in them, saying analysis found ‘significant risks for those who had aura but no increased risk for migraine without aura.’

Statins, which cost £2 a month per patient, cut the risk of heart attacks and strokes for people with high cholesterol, saving around 7,000 lives a year. Many GPs and patients are worried about over-use and side-effects such as muscle pain and diabetes.

Prof Peter Weissberg, medical director at the British Heart Foundation, said last night: ‘We would need more evidence, from randomised clinical trials or case-controlled studies, that prescribing statins for people with migraine would indeed bring about a reduction in heart attacks and strokes before changing guidelines.’

Dr Maureen Baker, chairman of the Royal College of GPs, said: ‘These recommendations would only apply to patients who suffer migraine with a number of specific symptoms, such as tingling, weakness and flashing lights’.

‘Risks if you have aura before attack’