diff --git a/src/subParsers/headers.js b/src/subParsers/headers.js
index a6018f5..8dd52e8 100644
--- a/src/subParsers/headers.js
+++ b/src/subParsers/headers.js
@@ -52,7 +52,8 @@ showdown.subParser('headers', function (text, options, globals) {
   });
 
   function headerId(m) {
-    var title, escapedId = m.replace(/[^\w]/g, '').toLowerCase();
+    var regex = option.headerRegex || /[^\w]/g;
+    var title, escapedId = m.replace(regex, '').toLowerCase();
 
     if (globals.hashLinkCounts[escapedId]) {
       title = escapedId + '-' + (globals.hashLinkCounts[escapedId]++);