Other terms used to describe Basilar Artery Migraine (BAM) include Bickerstaff's Migraine, Bickerstaff's Syndrome, Vertebrobasilar Migraine, Vertebrobasilar Syndrome, and Vertebro-vascular Migraine.

Terms that you may see in association with Basilar Artery Migraine, and that can be a common component of BAM, include Transient Ischemia, Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA), Vertebrobasilar Ischemia, Transient Vertebrobasilar Ischemia (TVBI) and Vertebrobasilar Insufficiency.

Basilar Artery Migraine is often misdiagnosed. It is manifested by several neurological deficits, and is quite unlike normal migraines. For more information on the diagnosis and misdiagnosis of Basilar Artery Migraine, read the section on Diagnosis of BAM.

This type of migrane, or rather, "migraine variant," is normally characterized by a severe headache that often occurs in the occipital region (near the base of the skull in the back of the head), although the pain may also be in the region of the temporal lobe (above and just forward of the ear) and/or the eye (usually a bit above and behind the eyeball itself). Though the headache is normally present in some form, Basilar Artery Migraine can occur without one.

BAM is characterized by this occipital headache, along with the characteristic symptoms of vertebrobasilar ischemia.