Extracranial vascular changes during headache, exercise and stress

Changes in pulse amplitude from the frontal branch of the superficial temporal artery were monitored during and after mental arithmetic and exercise tests in 30 patients seen previously during unilateral migraine headache. During mental arithmetic and after exercise, increases in temporal pulse amplitude were greatest in patients who had shown one or more signs of extracranial vascular involvement in headache (increased heat loss from the affected frontotemporal region, or headache relief during compression of the superficial temporal artery). It was concluded that scalp arteries dilate readily in a subgroup of patients during stress, exercise and headache but this is not essential for migraine.