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Gender and Migraine pp 45–68Cite as

Headache and Pregnancy

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Part of the book series: Headache ((HEAD))

Abstract

Headache during pregnancy can be both primary and secondary and in the last case can be a symptom of a life-threatening condition. Migraine is a risk factor for pregnancy complications, particularly vascular events. It is fundamental looking for the well-known red flags suggesting for a secondary origin of an acute headache during pregnancy. For a differential diagnosis, one or more additional studies can be necessary: brain MRI and MR angiography with contrast, brain CT, ophthalmoscopy, electroencephalography, ultrasound of the vessels of the head and neck, and lumbar puncture. The most common secondary headache is related to preeclampsia, cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT), ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke, subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), arterial dissection, reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome (RCVS), posterior reversible leukoencephalopathy syndrome (PRES), idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH), and pituitary apoplexy. The preferable management of primary headache during pregnancy and breastfeeding should be non-pharmacological, and only if it is inadequate, the use of medications should be driven by a choice that takes into account all the benefits and possible risks.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Clinical and Molecular Medicine, Regional Referral Headache Centre, Sant’Andrea Hospital, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy

    Andrea Negro

  2. Neurology Department, Aeginition Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece

    Dimos Dimitrios Mitsikostas

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  1. Andrea Negro
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  2. Dimos Dimitrios Mitsikostas
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Correspondence to Andrea Negro .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Pharmacology and Vascular Medicine, Erasmus University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

    Antoinette Maassen van den Brink

  2. Barts Health NHS Trust, London, UK

    E. Anne MacGregor

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Negro, A., Mitsikostas, D.D. (2019). Headache and Pregnancy. In: Maassen van den Brink, A., MacGregor, E. (eds) Gender and Migraine. Headache. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-02988-3_4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-02988-3_4

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