ELECTROCARDIOGRAPHIC CHANGES IN MIGRAINE

Background: Migraine is the second most common cause for Primary headache. Migraine often results in considerable disability and decrease in the patients’ quality of life. Its prevalence is highest in the age group of 25 – 55 years, which are the peak years of economic productivity. In literature autonomic nervous system (ANS) impairment in migraine is well documented i.e. migraine is of neural origin. Also autonomic dysfunction in migraine may also affect autonomic innervation of the heart resulting in ECG changes. Objectives: To study ECG changes in patients of migraine. Materials and methods: Thirty migraine female patients aged 25 to 55 were included. Thirty age and gender matched controls were chosen for comparison. In all the study subjects and controls, resting ECG was recorded. Statistical analysis was done by unpaired student‘t’ test. Results: The resting heart rate was found to be significantly higher in migraineurs compared to controls (P<0.05). QTc interval although was within the normal range, it was significantly more (P