Contraception, heart attack and stroke: the risk is small, but there is

Taking hormonal contraceptives increases the risk of myocardial infarction and stroke

Weekly Pharmacy www.apteka.ua based on the New England Journal of Medicine:
Lidegaard et al., Thrombotic Stroke and Myocardial Infarction with Hormonal Contraception.

According to the results of a study published in the journal "NEJM", taking ethinyl estradiol-containing contraceptives can increase the risk of myocardial infarction and stroke in women, but the absolute probability of this remains quite low.

The study involved more than 1.6 million women aged 15-49 years. For 15 years, starting in 1995, monitoring of what contraceptives they took was carried out. At the same time, women who had already suffered a myocardial infarction or stroke, as well as those who had been diagnosed with blood clotting disorders, were excluded from the study. During the period of its implementation, more than 3,000 cases of stroke were noted, and more than 1,700 cases of myocardial infarction.

The researchers noted that the risk of stroke and myocardial infarction associated with hormonal contraceptives increased 0.9-1.7 times for oral contraceptives with ethinyl estradiol at a dose of 20 mcg, and 1.3-2.3 times when using oral contraceptives containing ethinyl estradiol at a dose of 30-40 mcg. The use of intrauterine devices containing only progestin was not associated with an increased risk of stroke and myocardial infarction, however, the number of women who used this method to prevent unwanted pregnancy was relatively small.

Ojvind Lidegaard, one of the authors of the study, noted that the increased risk of stroke and myocardial infarction when taking hormonal contraceptives in women can be minimized if they stop smoking and control blood pressure.

Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru15.06.2012