Causes and Triggers of Headaches
With several different types of headaches, understanding the underlying cause of the headache pain can often be challenging. Here, we’ll explore what triggers primary headaches and additional factors that can increase your risk.
Primary Headache Triggers
Headaches commonly occur due to hundreds of different triggers. However, some factors might put a person at a higher risk of experiencing headaches. For instance, women are three times more likely than men to develop migraine headaches.
Adults and teens are at much greater risk of experiencing migraine headaches if they are smokers, rarely exercise, or are obese.
Other Headache Causes
Many secondary causes of headaches are serious and life-threatening, but they are much less common than primary causes. These sources include:
- Bleeding in the intracranial vault of the skull
- Stroke
- Blood vessel malfunction
- Head injury
- Injury or trauma to the head or neck
- Neurological disorders