By: Thomas Pickering, MD, DPhil, FRCP, Director of Integrative and Behavioral Cardiology Program
of the Cardiovascular Institute at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York.

Soon after oral contraceptives were first introduced in the 1970s, there were reports of increased risk of high blood pressure, strokes and heart attacks in women who were taking them. At that time oral contraceptives contained a relatively large amount of estrogen (150 micrograms). They have since been replaced by 'low-dose' oral contraceptives, which contain only 50 micrograms of estrogen. Low-dose oral contraceptives are thought to be much safer, and this is confirmed in a survey of more than one million women aged 15 to 44 in a large California health-maintenance organization. Overall, there was no significant increase in the risk of having a stroke in women taking the pills. There was, however, a slightly increased risk of one type of stroke (a hemorrhagic stroke, from a bleed) in women who also smoked. Strokes were also more common in women with hypertension, but it was not possible to say whether taking contraceptive pills increased the risk any further.

Doctor's comments

This study, together with others already published, suggests that the modern low-dose oral contraceptives are safe.

Where it was published