Headache in the elderly
- VernacularTitle:重视老年人头痛
- Author:
Shiwen WU
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
the elderly;
headache;
migraine;
tension-type headache;
temporal arteritis
- From:
Chinese Journal of Practical Internal Medicine
2001;0(06):-
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
Headache is a common complaint in the elderly.After the age of 65,more than 13% of women and 7% of men have complaint of headache.Although tension headache and migraine are the most common primary headache,we should also recognize that their clinical features are atypical,and we must consider more serious disorders in every elderly patient presenting with a headache.Secondary headache syndromes are also more common in older people.One of these,temporal arteritis,needs to be recognized and promptly treated with corticosteroids to avoid permanent visual loss.Other causes of secondary headache that are common in older people include subdural hematomas,trigeminal neuralgia,herpes zoster infection,malignancies and medicine,etc.So we should pay more attention to the headache in the elderly,and any headache occurring for the first time in someone over the age of 65,or a changing headache pattern in a patient with chronic headaches,necessitates a complete evaluation to look for an underlying cause.
