Migraines are intense, throbbing pains, usually concentrated on one side of the head, often accompanied by nausea and vomiting, usually in women, that can leave people unable to work for days. Migraines have long been thought to have no serious medical consequences other than pain. In a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in July 2006, Tobias Kurth of Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston and colleagues showed that women with migraine aura were twice as likely to suffer a stroke, have heart disease and die from cardiovascular disease. In recent years, researchers have also shed more new light on the biological roots of migraine. These advances have led to the emergence of more treatments for migraines, offering new hope for patients who are suffering from this pain. Of course, the best approach is to prevent migraines. Many patients are aware that environmental factors can trigger migraines. Doctors often recommend exercises that require endurance to help patients de-stress. For example, jogging. Storch, a migraine researcher, also recommends that patients use a method called progressive muscle relaxation to relieve stress. This method requires patients to actively make a group of muscles tense and then relax in a specific sequence. Sometimes, though, all one has to do is slow down the pace of life or work. There are also patients who have migraines because of irregular sleep patterns. For these patients, getting up regularly every morning and not sleeping in on weekends can solve the problem. Too little sleep can also trigger migraines, so it’s important to go to bed on time as well. For some people, migraine prevention means having to avoid exposure to things such as the smell of cigarette smoke or certain foods such as red wine or chocolate. And for female patients, 60 percent of migraines are caused by a drop in estrogen just before menstruation. Usually, women can prevent or relieve migraines by taking estrogen tablets or pills starting 2 to 3 days before their period to counteract the natural drop in estrogen. Menstrual periods are predictable, so treatments usually used during migraines, such as the treprostatin type of medication taken, can migraine if taken 1 to 2 days before the expected onset of a migraine. If a migraine attack occurs more than 3 times a month or lasts longer than 72 hours, the doctor will recommend that the patient take the medication regularly to prevent the attack. Most migraine prevention medications are drugs used to treat conditions such as epilepsy and depression. These medications usually reduce the number of migraine attacks dramatically. Even if migraines still occur, these medications can reduce the level of pain during an attack. Non-drug therapies to suppress migraines also include biofeedback methods. This approach requires the patient to learn to control some bodily functions that are automatically exercised under normal circumstances, such as whistling and heartbeat. Usually, the patient is assisted by a therapeutic specialist, with the help of feedback instruments, and a little-known relaxation method called autogenic training. In the autogenic training method, the patient uses special exercises that make the body feel warm, heavy and relaxed. The purpose of these techniques is to help patients relax the pressure in their blood vessels and improve their headaches. Some patients are even able to get instant pain relief with practice.