Ischemic stroke in young adults: the relevance of migrainous infarction.

Sixty-one consecutive patients, less than or equal to 40 years old, were hospitalized for cerebral infarction between 1977 and 1985. Evaluation included computed tomographic brain scan, arteriography, echocardiography, and blood tests. A probable migrainous infarction was diagnosed in six patients (10%) (all women with a history of migraine) who survived the initial stroke and were followed-up for an average of four years. In five patients the stroke occurred during a common migraine attack and in one patient during a classic migraine attack. The site of infarction was invariably the occipital lobe. During the follow-up, no subject had a further stroke. All six women had a permanent hemianopic deficit.