Basilar Artery Migraine may also include other symptoms (see section on symptoms for a full range). Those listed above, however, are the most common.

People who are having a Basilar Artery Migraine often describe the attack as "stroke-like," as do those who may observe them. In fact, Basilar Artery Migraines involve "ischemia," an insufficient supply of blood (and therefore oxygen) to parts of the brain. This is normally transient, and in BAM is classified as Transient Vertebrobasilar Ischemia, a type of transient ischemic attack (TIA).

TIAs are often called, "little strokes," but are in fact not strokes themselves. However, strokes are all the result of ischemia. If ischemia persists for too long, cells in the brain (neurons) begin to starve and die off. If this occurs enough over a localized area, the tissue containing the neurons becomes "infarcted." If permanent neuronal and tissue death over an area of the brain result, then it is called a stroke.

Basilar Artery Migraine is one of the very few forms of migraine that can result in a stroke. Migrainous strokes resulting from BAM normally occur in the brainstem or the occipital lobe.

Brainstem strokes are of particular concern, as the brainstem plays such a critical role in the maintenance of the human organism, and may result in quadriplegia, coma, or even death.

Luckily, not only is Basilar Artery Migraine rare, but so is a stroke resulting from BAM. It is critical, however, for patients and physicians to be aware of the symptoms and risks involved, and for patients to seek prompt treatment from a neurologist if they experience the symptoms of Basilar Artery Migraine.

Proper prophylactic (preventative, rather than abortive) treatment can either prevent the attacks altogether or greatly lessen the severity of the attacks, thereby reducing any potential risks.

BAM sufferers should also know the warning signs of stroke, as well as those things that they can do to decrease their risk. In addition, since Basilar Artery Migraine is so rare, patients are advised to know of the contraindication of taking any type of "vasoconstrictor" (drug that constricts the blood vessels and arteries), and to be aware that if their condition is not properly diagnosed, chances are fair to good that they may be prescribed a vasoconstricor, generally Imitrex or Cafergot (ergotamine) or related drugs, especially if they are diagnosed with "classical migraine," "migraine," or "migraine with aura."

In what is called "migrainous infarction," the neurological deficits experienced last for more than 24 hours after the migraine headache itself resides. Under certain conditions, a permanent neurological deficit can result, especially in young women on oral contraceptives.

Since BAM attacks may frequently lead to neurological symptoms that persist for more than 24 hours following the end of the migraine itself, since they are (generally classified as) a form of complicated migraine (and therefore one that is much more likely to lead to stroke than other type of migraine), and since many of the sufferers who are not children or adolescents are in fact young women (under the age of 40), it would be prudent to pay special attention to the risk of stroke in young women with BAM, especially those who are on oral contraceptives.