Jim Cramer Joins the American Migraine Foundation as Spokesperson

Television personality Jim Cramer partners with the American Migraine Foundation to raise awareness, drive support for migraine

The American Migraine Foundation (AMF) is proud to announce that Jim Cramer, host of CNBC’s Mad Money, has joined the organization as its spokesperson for the ongoing Move Against Migraine campaign. Mr. Cramer will be an instrumental figure in the Foundation’s mission to mobilize a community for patient support, drive awareness, advance research, and provide education for those impacted by migraine and other disabling diseases that cause severe head pain.

“The American Migraine Foundation is a world-class organization dedicated to providing those living with migraine with education and resources to combat their disease,” says Mr. Cramer. “There is an endless amount of people with migraine who are in excruciating pain, struggling to find treatment and looking for answers. No one should have to face this alone.”

Mr. Cramer is one of the more than 37 million Americans living with migraine. Starting in October of 2016, he would get a migraine attack almost daily, disabling him and impacting every aspect of his life.

“My life developed a miserable rhythm,” says Cramer. “There are headaches and then there is migraine. And the latter is nothing like the former. Unless you have migraine, you don’t know what it’s like to fear an attack.”

Despite meeting with dozens of the top physicians in the country, it took years before he was diagnosed with migraine. Finally, he met with a neurologist who specializes in headache medicine. After years of searching for answers, he was placed on a treatment plan that, over time, dramatically reduced the frequency of his migraine attacks.

“I see many people in my practice who are just like Mr. Cramer, who have gone years searching for hope, looking for help and not being able to find it,” says Lawrence Newman, MD, FAHS, Vice Chair of AMF and professor of neurology at NYU Langone Health. “One of the goals of the American Migraine Foundation is to empower and support patients to advocate for themselves so that they can find the appropriate health care provider and get the correct diagnosis and treatment the first time.”

Migraine is the 3rd most common disease in the world and the 2nd leading cause of all global disability. Despite this public health impact, migraine receives less research funding than other major diseases.

This disparity directly translates to patient care. Through his own experience of getting diagnosed and treated for migraine, Mr. Cramer realized that there was a general lack of information about migraine. Now, working alongside the Foundation, his goal is to draw more attention to the disease with the hope of reaching more patients and breaking down barriers to make treatment more accessible.

“If I can help even one person find relief, then I know I will have made a big difference,” says Cramer. “No one living with this disease should have to suffer the pain that is migraine alone.”

AMF is dedicated to providing tools and resources to help those living with migraine connect with doctors and other health care providers, learn more about their condition through expert-vetted content, and to access resources that empower patients to advocate for themselves. The organization also runs an online support group where members can connect, share stories and establish a sense of community.

“The most important tool we have is knowledge, and our mission is to ensure that this knowledge is made available to as many patients, members of the public, and health care providers as possible,” says David Dodick, MD, FAHS, Chair of AMF and professor of neurology at the Mayo Clinic.

Mr. Cramer’s commitment to helping AMF achieve this mission will help increase awareness surrounding the impact of migraine.

“The Foundation is dedicated to building a community of patients who can come together and stop the stigma associated with migraine,” says Nim Lalvani, MPH, Executive Director of AMF. “We are honored to have Mr. Cramer join our effort this month, and every month, to speak on behalf of the millions of people living with migraine.”