Red Flag Symptoms
- Neurological symptoms that are new or accompany headache
- Sudden onset of headache
- Positional components—it feels better when they lay down and worse when they’re upright, for example
- New onset of headache in pregnancy
- Progressive changes in headache, where headaches are continually worsening
- Changes in other headache-associated symptoms or the development of other neurological symptoms should also be of concern. They include:
- Significant vision changes
- Weakness
- Numbness
- Trouble speaking or concentrating
Worrisome Headaches: Red Flags "SNOOP" (American Headache Society)
- Systemic symptoms as fever, weight loss, or secondary risk factors as HIV, h/o malignancy, etc.
- Neurologic symptoms or abnormal signs as eye pain, visual loss, confusion, impaired pro alertness, or consciousness.
- Onset: sudden (thunderclap)
- Older: new onset & progressive headache, especially in patients over 50 y.o. (as giant cell arteritis)
- Previous headache history: first or worst headache or different headache (change in attack severity or clinical features)