Does having a headache for a few weeks raise the risk of stroke?

by Adrienne
(North Hollywood, CA)

I have had a mild one sided headache for 15 days. It does not get worse when I exercise or when I sleep. I have no sensitivity to light or sound. I have no previous medical history. I am a 25 year old female with perfect blood tests, a normal MRI (taken before the headaches occurred), I smoke 3-7 cigarettes a day and I have been on Seasonique birth control for 4 straight years with no complications. I drink alcohol on occasion but have only had 4 drinks in the last 30 days.

Family has history of heart disease but no one in my immediate family has any problems other than high blood pressure.

I have taken Sumatriptan which seems to help at the time but the headache comes back the next day. I just wanted to know if I need to be worried about having a stroke due to the duration of the headache or if because my risk factors are low it is not necessary.

Headache and Stroke

Hi Adrienne, that’s an awfully long time to have a headache! I note you have had an MRI brain, which I assume was recent? Headache can occur with stroke, particularly with haemorrhagic or bleed type stroke. However, headaches don’t cause stroke – they are only a symptom of them. A 25 year old women is unlikely to have a stroke (although they can occur, thank fully rare in comparison to older people). I note the improvement in your headache with Sumatriptan, a treatment for migraine so this is the likely cause. Perhaps you should be taking a prophylactic or preventative treatment for your migraine to try to stop it from returning. Drugs such as beta blockers and Pizotifen can help in this situation. Perhaps you should discuss this further with your physician.
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