Acute Migraine Prescription Patterns Vary by Baseline Cardiovascular Risk and Clinical Characteristics: A Real-World Evidence Study

Introduction Migraine is a debilitating neurological disease and one of the most common disorders in the world. Although the triptans, potent 5-HT1B/1D receptor agonists, are an effective and widely used acute treatment of migraine, few studies have assessed how their cardiovascular risk warnings could impact prescription patterns. This study characterized cardiovascular risk factors and other aspects of people with migraine in real-world settings and confirmed patterns of acute migraine care. Methods This retrospective study included five cohorts: people with migraine prescribed acute treatments [triptans, opiates, prescription nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)], untreated people with migraine, and individuals without migraine diagnosis. Baseline demographic and clinical characteristics were used to develop and validate a 1-year myocardial infarction (MI) risk prediction model among untreated people with migraine. This validated prediction model generated disease risk scores (DRSs) for MI among untreated cohorts. Results Patients in the study included 436,642 prescribed a triptan, 55,234 prescribed opiates, and 334,152 prescribed NSAIDs; as well as 1,168,212 untreated persons with migraine and 11,735,009 nonmigraine participants. Those prescribed triptans were younger, had fewer cardiovascular risk factors and hospitalizations, and lower concomitant medication use than those in the NSAID and opiate cohorts. The distribution of the DRS showed that compared to patients prescribed NSAIDs (4.2%) or opiates (3.5%), a smaller proportion of patients prescribed triptans (1.3%) were at high risk for MI at 1 year (> 10%). Conclusion People with migraine who had more cardiovascular risk factors and greater 1-year MI risk score were disproportionately prescribed opiates and NSAIDs compared to triptans. Future research should explore unmet needs for patients with disorders for which triptan therapy is contraindicated.