A number of features set migraine apart from other headaches. First, migraine headaches are recurrent - they keep coming back, frequently or infrequently. The average is one to three attacks a month, and attacks tend to be very similar in form. Unlike other kinds of headaches migraine seems to be at least partly hereditary. About two of three people who get migraine headaches have family members who get them too.
Migraine afflicts more women than men.
Female hormones may play a part in triggering attacks or making them more severe. Many women have migraine headaches before or during their menstrual periods, and attacks often taper off after menopause. Some women do not have attacks during pregnancy. In some people migraine attacks are triggered by emotional stress or by drinking or eating particular things, such as alcohol or foods rich in the amino acid tyramine. Most migraine attacks, however, are spontaneous - they just happen.