Can High Blood Pressure Cause Migraines?

Glimpse Of Blood Pressure And Migraines

Hypertension is a chronic & common cardiovascular disease. In hypertension, Systolic and Diastolic blood pressure are consistently higher than usual. The unit by which blood pressure is measured in millimeters of mercury (mm Hg). The normal Systolic BP is 120 mm Hg, and Diastolic BP is 80 mm Hg.

A migraine is typically a moderate or severe headache felt as a pulsating pain on one side of the head. Many people also experience symptoms like being sick, feeling sick, and being more sensitive to light or sound. Migraine is a typical ailment, influencing around 1 in every five ladies and around 1 in every 15 men. Migraines are thought to be caused by abnormal brain activity that temporarily affects nerve signals, chemicals, and blood vessels in the brain.

Several Medicines are used for migraine pain like Sumatriptan is used especially for migraines and also you can get over the counter sumatriptan through prescription , off label as Gabapentin and soma too. In case of migraines due to high /low blood pressure your doctor can suggest some other medicines to control medicine as well as Migraines.

Migraines and High Blood Pressure Relation

High blood pressure, also named as hypertension, can be a sign of recurrent migraine attacks, but migraine disease can also increase your risk of developing high blood pressure.
Researchers are working to fully comprehend the connection between migraine and high blood pressure; It's not clear if one is the cause of the other or if there is another factor that could cause both.

In any case, controlling high blood pressure is essential, especially for people with other risk factors for heart disease, such as migraines. A hypertensive crisis, or acute dangerously high blood pressure, can have significant symptoms, whereas raised blood pressure typically does not cause any symptoms.

Can High Blood Pressure Cause Migraines?

High blood pressure can cause migraines in some people, but there is a complicated connection between the two. Both high blood pressure and migraines may have the exact underlying cause. 

When a person is stressed, depressed, reacting to food intolerances, doing sudden strenuous exercise, or for many other reasons, they are more likely to have a migraine or high blood pressure. This implies that headache and hypertension may once in a while co-occur because they have a similar hidden cause.

A person experiencing a migraine, an acute episode of pain, and other unpleasant symptoms, may have elevated blood pressure as a result of their illness, stress, or a variety of other factors. People who say they have a migraine with an "aura," or flashing lights and similar symptoms before a migraine, are slightly more likely to develop cardiovascular disease. 

Although the mechanisms of this link are still poorly understood, it does suggest that migraine sufferers should be aware of their cardiovascular disease risk and manage their other risk factors as effectively as possible.

Does High Blood Pressure or Low Blood Pressure Cause Migraines?

Yes, both low or high blood pressure can cause migraines when there are emotional changes in the circulatory strain of your head. A "pulling sensation" from the back of the head to the neck is a standard description of a headache caused by low or high blood pressure. The cerebral pain can go from gentle to extremely serious. It usually worsens when you sit or stand up, but lying down relieves it.

The Proof Center:

Over the past ten years, numerous population-based studies have demonstrated a negative correlation between BP and headaches. However, most either lack a validated definition of a headache-free population at baseline or have a cross-sectional design. As a result, additional population-based studies with a prospective design and a clearly defined headache-free population are required.

This large-scale population-based cohort study confirmed an inverse relationship between BP and headache development. In any case, further exploration is expected to research the entire systems making sense of these discoveries. Read In Detail

What Does A High Blood Pressure Headache Feel Like?

High blood pressure-related headaches are typically characterized by a pounding, tight, or banging pain, sometimes with an "aura" resembling a migraine. Other symptoms, such as confusion, nausea, chest pain, anxiety, and panic, may occur when extremely high blood pressure is linked to a headache or migraine.

Migraines are often referred to as having an "aura," which refers to sensations or changes in vision that appear before the more typical symptoms. They can cause very severe headaches. Migraines are characterized by symptoms such as light flashing, sensitivity to light and sound, nausea, and sickness.

Can Migraine Cause High Blood Pressure?

After a severe migraine with an aura and intense cephalalgia, some patients experience dangerous hypertension periods. It is simply because nearly all patients experience increased blood pressure when they are in pain. Patients who experience migraines regularly and more than twice per week can anticipate that their vascular system will eventually weaken to the point where they will experience high blood pressure.

How Can We Overcome Migraine Caused by Blood pressure?

People with high blood pressure and migraines should see a doctor immediately because this could signify a hypertensive crisis. There is a possibility of further organ damage or undesirable side effects if treatment is not received. 

A hypertensive emergency is what doctors call a hypertensive headache with other symptoms. To manage blood pressure, this condition frequently necessitates intravenous medication.

These medications include Nicardipine, Labetalol, and Sodium nitroprusside. Individuals must refrain from attempting to lower their blood pressure at home, even if they take the prescribed medications. Too quickly lowering blood pressure can hurt blood flow to the brain.

Conclusion

Whether high blood pressure can cause headaches is still up for debate. In some studies, there is no connection, while in others, there is a strong correlation. According to the American Heart Association (AHA) Trusted Source, migraines are not signs of high blood pressure unless there is a hypertensive crisis. 

A condition known as malignant hypertension can occur when blood pressure is extremely high. A hypertensive crisis is another name for malignant hypertension. Because your blood pressure suddenly rises to dangerous levels during a hypertensive crisis, pressure builds in the skull. The headache that follows is unlike any other migraine or head pain.