By analyzing 28 studies involving use of HMGcoA reductase inhibitors or other anti-lipidemic agents in more than 100,000 patients, researchers have concluded that those patients given the HMGcoA inhibitors were 0.76 times as likely to develop strokes as those in the control groups. The stroke rate in patients given fibrates, resins or dietary intervention did not significantly differ from the control groups. Patients given the reductase inhibitors were also less likely to die of coronary heart disease or from other causes. Their analysis of these studies, said the authors, indicates that elevated cholesterol levels are a risk factor for stroke and may have a causal role in stroke formation.

A family history of migraines also increases your risk for both ischemic and hemorrhagic strokes even if you do not have them yourself. Hemorrhagic stroke occurs when a vessel breaks, allowing blood to bleed into the brain. This deprives cells upstream of an oxygen supply and they die. If enough blood escapes and puts pressure on other vessels, circulation and oxygen will be cut off to other areas of the brain

High blood pressure, use of birth control pills, and/or smoking increase this risk significantly because they cause blood vessels to constrict and limit blood flow to the brain. Changes in frequency or type of migraines were not found to be a predictor of stroke in study participants who use birth control pills. However, if taking birth control pills you should tell the physician prescribing them about your migraines or any other type of headache you experience.

Up to 40 percent of strokes occurring in women with migraines may develop directly from this type of headache.