Ocular migraine, or migraine with aura, involves visual disturbances that occur with or without migraine pain.
Unusual moving patterns in your field of vision can be startling, especially when you aren’t sure what’s happening. Migraine with aura isn’t a stroke, and it’s not usually a sign that you’re about to have a stroke.
People with a history of migraine with aura may be at higher risk of stroke, so it’s important to understand the signs and symptoms of both. Migraine and stroke can occur together, but it’s rare.
Continue reading to learn more about the link between ocular migraine and stroke, and how to tell the difference.
According to the American Migraine Foundation, about 25 to 30 percent of people with migraine experience aura, and less than 20 percent have it with every attack.
Migraine with aura involves visual distortions that might remind you of looking through a kaleidoscope. It typically affects both eyes. Symptoms can include:
- sparkling or shimmering spots
- colorful stars, zig-zag lines, or other patterns
- fractured or brightly colored images
- blind spots
- speech changes
Certain things, like bright or flashing light, can trigger migraine with aura.
An attack usually starts with a small spot that slowly expands. It might dart away when you try to focus on it. You may still see it when you close your eyes.
These can be disturbing, but they’re temporary and not usually harmful.
The attack typically lasts 20 to 30 minutes, after which vision returns to normal.
For some people, this aura is a warning sign that migraine pain and other symptoms will soon hit. Others have aura and pain at the same time.
An attack can also happen by itself, with no pain. This is called acephalgic migraine or silent migraine.
Migraine with aura isn’t the same as retinal migraine, which is more serious. Retinal migraine happens in only one eye and can cause temporary blindness or in some cases, irreversible damage.
Having migraine with aura doesn’t mean you’re having a stroke or that stroke is about to happen. If you have migraine with aura, though, you may be at a higher risk of stroke.
A prospective, longitudinal
Results showed a significant association between migraine with visual aura and ischemic stroke over 20 years. No association with stroke was found for migraine without visual aura.
Other research has found links between migraine and stroke, particularly migraine with aura, possibly doubling the risk. One 2019 study focused on young female patients with no other risk factors.
The reason for this increased stroke risk isn’t fully understood. What is known is that both migraine and stroke involve changes to blood vessels. People with migraine with aura may be more likely to develop blood clots from narrowed blood vessels, which increases the risk of stroke.