Migraine in Clinical Practice: Pharmacologic and Nonpharmacologic Strategies for Care

Course overview

Migraine and other primary headaches are highly prevalent and disabling conditions that drive major healthcare and economic burden. Migraines affect 12-15% of people annually, with women disproportionately affected, while tension-type and cluster headaches add further impact. Once thought vascular, migraines are now recognized as a disorder of brain excitability and pain signaling involving the trigeminovascular system and calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP). Diagnosis is clinical, and management includes lifestyle modifications plus acute and preventive therapies such as NSAIDs, triptans, gepants, ditans, oral preventives, onabotulinumtoxinA, and CGRP monoclonal antibodies. This activity reviews epidemiology, pathophysiology, diagnosis, and treatment, highlighting evidence-based strategies for nurses and nurse practitioners to improve care and outcomes.