Health
The 6 most common headache types — and when to see a doctor
Headaches are one of the most common medical conditions, with 96% of people having at least one in their lifetime, according to Cleveland Clinic.
About 40% of people globally experience what are known as “tension headaches” and about 10% suffer from migraines, the same source noted.
There are more than 150 different types of headaches, ranging from a mild annoyance to debilitating pain.
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For some, headaches can be wrongly diagnosed.
Actress Ashley Judd recently shared her story on Instagram how her “epic headaches” went misdiagnosed for eight years.
Headaches are one of the most common medical conditions, with 96% of people having at least one in their lifetime. (iStock)
“For those eight miserable years I had been treated, at some of our finest medical institutions, with medication for a type of headache that I do not have,” she posted on Instagram in October.
Her doctors eventually diagnosed her headaches as status migrainosus, which is a migraine attack that lasts longer than 72 hours.
What is a headache?
A headache is a pain in the head, neck or face that is often described as a sensation of pressure that varies in location, frequency and severity, according to the National Institutes of Health.
“For those eight miserable years I had been treated … with medications for a type of headache that I do not have.”
“Headaches are one of the most common symptoms experienced by many people, often brushed off as just a minor inconvenience,” Dr. Fred Cohen, assistant professor of medicine and neurology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York, told Fox News Digital.
They are divided into two main categories – primary, caused by overactivity or dysfunction in the pain-sensitive areas of the head, or secondary, where an underlying medical condition causes the pain, Cleveland Clinic adds.
Actress Ashley Judd recently shared her story on Instagram how her “epic headaches” went misdiagnosed for eight years. (Getty Images)
Certain types of headaches may be a sign of a more serious condition, such as a brain tumor or aneurysm, especially if the pain is sudden or severe, according to Cohen.
“This highlights the importance of a thorough evaluation to differentiate between primary headaches and secondary causes, ensuring appropriate treatment and management,” he noted.
6 common types of headaches
The three most common types are tension headaches, migraines and cluster headaches, according to Cohen.
1. Tension headaches
“Tension headaches are among the most frequent types and are what most people consider a typical ‘headache,’” Cohen said.
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Many describe the pain as a tight band around the head, often caused by stress and muscle tension.
Treatment typically focuses on addressing the underlying causes, such as reducing stress or doing physical therapy, but prescription medications may be used if the headaches are frequent, Cohen noted.
2. Migraines
Migraines disproportionately affect women – up to 18% in the U.S. — and are the leading cause of disability among females aged 18 to 50 globally, research has shown.
“Migraine is considered a neurological disease, with multiple stages during an attack,” Cohen said.
Migraines disproportionately affect women – up to 18% in the U.S. — and are the leading cause of disability among females aged 18 to 50 globally. (iStock)
People may experience warning symptoms right before the headache, such as excessive yawning, increased hunger or tearing of the eyes.
“Some individuals also experience aura, a neurological phenomenon that can include visual disturbances — like zig-zag lights or blind spots — or sensory changes, like tingling or numbness,” Cohen pointed out.
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Migraine causes a “severe throbbing or pounding headache with light or sound sensitivity and sometimes nausea,” noted Dr. Timothy A. Collins, chief of the Division of Headache and Pain at Duke University School of Medicine in Durham, North Carolina.
These symptoms typically last anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour, but migraine pain can last longer — from four hours to three days, Cohen noted.
A status migrainous is a migraine attack that lasts longer than 72 hours.
When attacks last longer than this, it is known as “status migrainosus,” which is what Judd experienced.
“Unfortunately, many people mistake migraine for ‘regular headaches,’ and are unaware of the many effective treatment options available, including daily medications, supplements, monthly injections and even Botox injections,” Cohen told Fox News Digital.
3. Cluster headaches
Cluster headaches, which are rare, cause severe, overwhelming pain around one eye multiple times a day. The condition is “very disabling,” according to Collins.
The sharp pain is combined with eye redness, tearing, facial flushing and nasal congestion.
The pain can be so intense that it can be mistaken for a brain aneurysm, Cohen noted.
“Cluster headaches usually last from 15 minutes to three hours and tend to occur in cycles lasting days or weeks,” an expert said. (iStock)
“Cluster headaches usually last from 15 minutes to three hours and tend to occur in cycles lasting days or weeks,” he said.
Cluster headaches are commonly misdiagnosed as migraines.
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The main difference between the two is that cluster headaches tend to occur in cycles, while many patients with migraines have headaches for a few days in a row once a month, Collins said.
Treatment options for cluster headaches include medications to abort an attack and preventive therapies to reduce the frequency of cycles, according to Cohen.
4. Rebound headaches
People with headaches often take over-the-counter (OTC) medications, like acetaminophen or ibuprofen, to “abort” the headache, according to Healthline.
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But experts caution that frequent use of these medications may lead to more frequent headaches by causing withdrawal symptoms when they are not taken, the same source noted.
Experts caution that frequent use of these medications may lead to more frequent headaches by causing withdrawal symptoms when they are not taken. (iStock)
People may also get a headache if they consume large amounts of caffeine and then suddenly miss their morning coffee or quit the drug suddenly.
5. Sinus headaches
Sinus congestion from allergies or an infection may cause pain that is localized around the front of the head in the sinuses, according to Healthline.
The pain typically goes away after the sinus congestion is resolved.
6. Exertion headaches
Intense physical activity can trigger this type of headache by increasing blood flow to the brain, per Healthline.
The symptoms usually go away within minutes to hours, but if they last more than several hours or have never been experienced before, it’s best to get checked out by a doctor, experts advise.
When to see a doctor
“Normal” headaches do not cause loss of consciousness, confusion, slurred speech or weakness in one arm or leg, all of which could be a sign of a stroke, experts say.
People should see a doctor if they have headaches that have abrupt change in severity or have come on suddenly. (iStock)
People who experience any of the following warning signs should see a health care provider immediately or call 911 to rule out a more serious medical condition.
– Worst headache of your life
– Headache that has abrupt change in severity or comes on suddenly
– Headache with vision problems (such as double vision)
– Fainting or loss of consciousness with a headache
– Fever and stiff neck associated with nausea and vomiting with headache
– Headache after head injury
– Headache right after weightlifting, exercise or sexual activity
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Fox News Digital reached out to Ashley Judd for comment.
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A distraught mother who thought she was having a heart attack was instead hospitalized with broken heart syndrome — otherwise known as takotsubo syndrome (TTS) — less than a year after her veteran son tragically took his own life.
Dawn Turner, 57, of the U.K., lost her son in August of last year.
Just last month, the mom of three awoke with “unbearable” chest pains, she said — and called an ambulance, worried she was going into cardiac arrest. But when she arrived at the hospital, doctors told her she was suffering from the effects of grief caused by a broken heart, as news agency SWNS reported.
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TTS is a temporary, reversible heart condition often triggered by extreme emotional or physical stress, such as grief, fear or severe illness, according to experts.
Symptoms usually mimic a heart attack, with sudden and severe chest pain and shortness of breath the most common — and it primarily affects women over the age of 50.
A mom whose soldier son took his own life feared she was suffering cardiac arrest — only to be told by hospital doctors that she was feeling the effects of grief caused by a broken heart. Dawn Turner, mother of deceased soldier Rob Homans, is pictured above, April 2026. (SWNS)
Turner, of Eckington in Worcester, said, “I was [sitting] downstairs earlier that night and thought I had a bit of indigestion. I went to bed and just couldn’t get comfortable — I was breaking out in a sweat and had heart palpitations.
“Then, around midnight, I had pain down my arm and in my jaw. I was still putting it down to indigestion… My partner Paul asked me if I was all right, and I said, ‘I think I’m having a heart attack.’”
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She said she couldn’t catch her breath — “and my heart felt as though it was missing a beat and then [started] thudding again. For those moments, I truly believed I was having a heart attack.”
“Your heart is all over the place — there’s an extra beat,” Turner was told.
She said her partner called emergency services, and an ambulance arrived within five minutes.
“They came in and linked me up to an ECG. They said, ‘Your heart is all over the place — there’s an extra beat, and it’s all over the place,’” she said, as SWNS reported.
Turner was rushed to the hospital by ambulance.
Turner is shown with her son in full dress uniform. He worked as an artilleryman and spent 10 years in the U.K.’s Royal Horse Artillery after joining in 2006. He was battling mental health challenges after his military service, and ultimately took his own life. (SWNS)
In emergency care, Turner was also given blood tests.
She added, “They came back and said I didn’t have the enzymes produced from a heart attack in my blood. But they said there [was] something going on.”
After undergoing more tests and seeing a cardiologist, Turner was told she had takotsubo syndrome.
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“I told [the doctor] that my heart feels broken. I told her about [my son] Rob, and she said it’s exactly that. She said it’s a real thing, and that I’d been under so much stress. The body can only take so much, and the grief and the stress can be quite physical.”
Turner’s son committed suicide in August 2025 after struggling to get help with his mental health.
He spent 10 years in the Royal Horse Artillery after joining in 2006, when he worked as an artilleryman.
Turner’s son did two tours of duty in Afghanistan, she said. After he returned to civilian life, he began suffering from a number of health conditions. She’s shown above with a flower-draped memorial to her son. (SWNS)
He did two tours of duty in Afghanistan, she said, and returned to civilian life in 2016 before suffering several worsening health conditions.
Turner, who is also the CEO of a veterans charity called Stepway, “When he left the army, he got married, and they settled down in London. He walked straight into a job as a delivery driver. But then his health took a downward spiral, and he started having digestive troubles.”
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He was eventually told he had PTSD — but those symptoms may be similar to those of mild traumatic brain injury, Turner said.
“He was deaf in one ear from using the guns,” she said. “He realized he was putting so much pressure on his marriage, so he moved back up with me. He started to build himself up — then COVID hit.”
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Turner said there were unfortunate delays as her son tried to get access to various services and facilities.
“When people lose loved ones, you’re obviously distraught, but you eventually find closure,” she said, per SWNS. “I found peace when I lost my sister in 2015. But with Rob, I can’t find closure because there’s no justice there.”
“I had never really understood that a person could become so overwhelmed by stress and grief that it physically affects the heart,” said the grieving mom. “Broken heart syndrome can look and feel like a heart attack.” (iStock)
Turner is now on the mend and hopes to be fully recovered in a couple of weeks, SWNS reported.
“Until that moment, I had never really understood that a person could become so overwhelmed by stress and grief that it physically affects the heart,” she shared. “Broken heart syndrome can look and feel like a heart attack. It was a warning sign for me, and for anyone. It can change the shape of one of your heart chambers … it can cause some serious damage.”
She added, “The cardiologist told me that thankfully, my heart itself is healthy and there was no damage, but that it will take around two weeks to a month for my heart to reboot itself.”
“Maybe the extra [heart]beat is for Rob. You are carrying on living for him,” her partner told her.
Turner was told she needed to rest, seek counseling and make lifestyle changes to reduce stress.
“Things have settled down, and I’m taking things easy — I’m pacing myself now, and I feel a lot better. Paul said, ‘Maybe the extra beat is for Rob. You are carrying on living for him.’”
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Turner said, “That broke me and healed me a little bit all at once.”
Fox News Digital previously reported that broken heart syndrome, which causes the heart to temporarily weaken, has been linked to the brain’s reaction to stress, as studies have found.
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In an article published in the European Heart Journal in March 2019, Swiss researchers said they found that the syndrome is linked to the way the brain communicates with the heart.
Broken heart syndrome, which causes the heart to temporarily weaken, has been linked to the brain’s reaction to stress, studies have found. (iStock)
Caused by intense emotional events, TTS is a rare, temporary condition that weakens the left ventricle and disrupts its normal pumping function.
The syndrome causes the heart’s main pumping chamber to change shape and get larger. The heart muscle becomes weaker, and its pumping action loses strength.
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Symptoms include sudden, intense chest pain, pressure or heaviness in the chest, along with shortness of breath.
It is treated with beta blockers and blood-thinning medicine to reduce risks of clots and other flareups.
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Eating too much salt has long been linked to high blood pressure, but new research suggests it could trick the immune system into prematurely aging the blood vessels.
A preclinical study recently published in the Journal of the American Heart Association has identified a biological chain reaction that links a salty diet to cardiovascular decay.
Scientists at the University of South Alabama observed that mice on a high-salt diet experienced rapid deterioration in their blood vessel function.
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After just four weeks of high sodium intake, the small arteries responsible for regulating blood flow lost their ability to relax, according to a press release.
The team found that the cells lining these vessels had entered a state of cellular senescence, a form of premature cellular aging in which cells stop dividing and release a mix of inflammatory signals that can damage surrounding tissue.
Excess salt has long been linked to high blood pressure, but a new study goes deeper into its effects on the cardiovascular system. (iStock)
The researchers tried to replicate this damage by exposing blood vessel cells directly to salt in a laboratory dish, but the cells showed no harmful effects.
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This suggests that salt isn’t directly causing damage to the vascular lining but that the real culprit may be the body’s own defense mechanism, the researchers noted.
Excess salt may trigger the immune system to release a molecule called interleukin-16 (IL-16), which acts as a messenger that instructs blood vessel cells to grow old before their time, according to the study.
Excess salt may trigger the immune system to release a molecule called interleukin-16, which acts as a messenger that instructs blood vessel cells to grow old before their time, according to the study. (iStock)
Once these cells age, they fail to produce nitric oxide, the essential gas that tells arteries to dilate and stay flexible.
To test whether this process could be reversed, the team turned to a class of experimental drugs known as senolytics.
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Using a cancer medication called navitoclax, which selectively clears out aged and dysfunctional cells, the researchers were able to restore nearly normal blood vessel function in the salt-fed mice, the release stated.
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By removing the decaying cells created by the high-salt diet, the drug allowed the remaining healthy tissue to maintain its elasticity and respond correctly to blood flow demands.
Excess salt may trigger the immune system into stopping the cells from dividing, the study suggests. (iStock)
The study did have some limitations. The transition from mouse models to human treatment remains a significant hurdle, the team cautioned.
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Senolytic drugs like navitoclax are still being studied for safety, and the team emphasized that previous trials have shown mixed results regarding their impact on artery plaque.
Additionally, the researchers have not yet confirmed whether the same IL-16 pathway is the primary driver of vascular aging in humans.
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