The authors determined von Willebrand factor (vWF) in 63 persons with migraine, 11 persons with migraine and prior stroke, and 35 frequency-matched controls. Additional studies were done in a subset with migraine without aura who were headache free for >7 days. Migraineurs with prior stroke had significantly higher vWF antigen (170% versus 106%) and activity (162% versus 108%) than the control group. vWF antigen (126%) and activity (130%) were also significantly higher in migraineurs without stroke. Multimers and protease activity were normal in the interictal subset.

No abstract

In our headache clinic, livedo reticularis is present in more than one fifth of patients. A history of stroke is more frequent in this subset of migraineurs, raising the possibility that livedo reticularis can be used as a clinical marker to identify those migraineurs with an increased risk of stroke.

In women, migraine is associated with stroke, coronary artery disease, deep venous thrombosis, as well as livedo reticularis, a dermatopathy which has been pathologically linked to cerebral vasculopathy. Whether migraineurs with livedo reticularis compose a subset at higher risk of thrombosis, including stroke, deserves further investigation.