Dizziness and Vertigo: Recognizing Vestibular Migraine in the Primary Care Setting
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Expires June 30, 2015
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Vestibular migraine (VM) is the most common cause of recurrent dizziness and vertigo but is often unrecognized by health care providers. VM causes significant impairment in level of function and quality of life, and the diagnosis should be considered when symptoms cannot be explained by other etiologies. Information and guidance are provided to raise clinicians’ awareness of VM in order to increase accurate diagnosis, guide management decisions, and improve patient health outcomes.
CONCLUSION
While VM is considered the most common cause of recurrent vertigo and dizziness, few primary care providers are familiar with the diagnosis. Differentiating among the various causes for these symptoms and determining if the cause is a CNS or peripheral system disorder are essential to narrowing the differential diagnoses.
The inclusion of VM in the ICHD-3 system will increase both clinician awareness and accurate diagnosis of the disorder. Office-based assessments can be performed to evaluate these common complaints, and numerous medical therapies are available to successfully treat patients with VM. Through greater awareness of VM and use of evidence-based diagnostic and treatment guidelines, clinicians can significantly improve quality of life and health outcomes for patients with the disorder.
