Older people who are smokers and experience migraines may be at an increased risk of stroke, according to a recent study.

"Our findings may provide more evidence as to why quitting smoking is important for people who experience migraine," researcher Teshamae Monteith said in a statement. "While this investigation of migraine and vascular events in older people found that only smokers with migraine have an increased risk of stroke, earlier studies have shown that women younger than 45 who have migraine with aura are also at an increased risk of stroke, whether or not they smoke."

For the study, researchers collected and analyzed data from 1,292 people who participated in the Northern Manhattan Study with an average age of 68 years who reported migraine were followed for an average of 11 years to see who developed heart attacks or stroke.

By the end of the study, 187 had migraine without aura and 75 had migraine with aura. During the study, a total of 294 strokes, heart attacks and deaths occurred.

Researchers did not find an association between migraine with or without aura and the risk of either stroke or heart attacks. However, among smokers, migraine was associated with a 3-fold increased risk of stroke, whereas among smokers, migraine was not associated with a stroke risk.

"Statistically, we could not rule out the possibility that the relationship between migraine and stroke in smokers was due to chance, however, we believe the association is consistent with other studies," Monteith said.

The findings are detailed in the journal Neurology.