Vertigo and Migraine

April 20, 2009

Vertigo is a common symptom in patients with migraine headaches.  It appears that obverse is also true – migraine is very common in patients with vertigo.  A study just published in Cephalalgia looked at 208 patients with benign recurrent vertigo.  It turned out that 87%, or 180 of these patients had migraine headaches. Of these 180 patients, 112 or 62% had migraine with aura and 38% had migraine without aura. Thirty percent, or 54 patients always had vertigo without any migraine symptoms, while in 70% vertigo occurred with a headache or other migraine symptoms, such as visual aura, sensitivity to light and noise. The duration of attacks of vertigo in most patients was between one hour and one day.

Written by
Alexander Mauskop, MD
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Insights from Dr. Alexander Mauskop on headaches and migraines
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