Older people who smoke and suffer migraine headaches face triple the risk of stroke, new research suggests.

Researchers at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine reviewed the records of 1,292 people with an average age of 68 who were enrolled in a migraine study.

A total of 294 strokes, heart attacks, and deaths occurred among subjects during the 11-year follow-up period of the study.

Of those, 187 had migraines without aura and 75 had migraine with aura, which is the visual or other sensory disturbances that can precede migraine headaches.

The researchers did not find a link existed between stroke risk and whether or not the sufferer experienced aura.

However, they did uncover a three-fold risk increase of stroke in people with either type of migraine who smoke.

The findings confirm earlier studies and should provide migraine sufferers with an added incentive to quit smoking, the researchers said.