Migraine in Young Stroke Patients-Better Outcomes Despite Distinct Risk Profiles: Insights From the…

Cohort studyEuropean journal of neurology· Aug 2026

Migraine in Young Stroke Patients-Better Outcomes Despite Distinct Risk Profiles: Insights From the STROKE-CARD-Study.

Katharina Kaltseis, Silvia Felicetti, Benjamin Dejakum … STROKE‐CARD Study Group

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Stroke & CerebrovascularCohort studyQ1IF 4.2

Migraine without aura linked to much higher odds of good stroke recovery.

Migraine in Young Stroke Patients-Better Outcomes Despite Distinct Risk Profiles: Insights From the STROKE-CARD-Study.

Katharina Kaltseis … STROKE‐CARD Study Group

European journal of neurology · Aug 2026 · Q1 in Neurology

Background

Migraine is a common neurological disorder and a non-traditional risk factor for ischaemic stroke.

Methods

Aged ≤ 55 years enrolled in the STROKE-CARD long-term follow-up study underwent structured face-to-face headache interviews by headache specialists using ICHD-3 criteria.

Results

migraine without aura had far greater odds of good recovery after stroke

OR 7.21 (95% CI 1.93 to 26.93)

CI excludes the null - significant

More results

Among 289 young stroke patients (median age 48.0 [41-52] years; 36.3% women), 92 (31.8%) had a history of migraine (51.1% with aura).

Migraine was more common in women, associated with younger age at stroke onset and more frequent headache at stroke onset, but not with traditional vascular risk factors.

More results

No significant differences were observed in stroke territory or stroke pattern.

Stroke severity (NIHSS) and functional outcome (mRS) at discharge were more favourable in migraineurs (p ≤ 0.001).

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Conclusion · 1 of 2

In young adults with ischaemic stroke, migraine-particularly with aura-was associated with younger age at stroke onset and a higher prevalence of PFO, while traditional vascular risk factors and stroke characteristics were similar across groups.

Conclusion · 2 of 2

Despite comparable stroke patterns, patients with migraine experienced more favourable short-term outcomes.

Migraine in Young Stroke Patients-Better Outcomes Despite Distinct Risk Profiles: Insights From the STROKE-CARD-Study.

Migraine in Young Stroke Patients-Better Outcomes Despite Distinct Risk Profiles: Insights From the STROKE-CARD-Study.

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