Birth control pills cause a small but significant increase in the risk of the most common type of stroke, according to a comprehensive report in the journal MedLink Neurology.
For healthy young women without any stroke risk factors, the risk of stroke associated with oral contraceptives is small. But in women with other stroke risk factors, "the risk seems higher and, in most cases, oral contraceptive use should be discouraged report co-authors.
Oral contraceptives increase the risk of ischemic strokes, which are caused by blood clots and account for about 85 percent of all strokes. In the general population, oral contraceptives do not appear to increase the risk of hemorrhagic strokes, which are caused by bleeding in the brain.
There are about 4.4 ischemic strokes for every 100,000 women of childbearing age. Birth control pills increase the risk 1.9 times, to 8.5 strokes per 100,000 women, according to a well-performed "meta-analysis" cited in the report. (A meta-analysis combines the results of multiple studies.) This is still a small risk; 24,000 women would have to take birth control pills to cause one additional stroke, according to the report.
But for women who take birth control pills and also smoke, have high blood pressure or have a history of migraine headaches, the stroke risk is significantly higher. Such women should be discouraged from using oral contraceptives, the report said.
Hormone replacement therapy with estrogen alone or combined with progesterone increases the risk of ischemic stroke by 40 percent; the higher the dose, the higher the risk, the report said.
Edited
Latest News
Key mechanism for maintaini…
By newseditor
Posted 06 Jun
How tumor stiffness alters…
By newseditor
Posted 06 Jun
Neural circuit involved in…
By newseditor
Posted 06 Jun
Signaling mechanism in live…
By newseditor
Posted 05 Jun
Statin prevents cancer deve…
By newseditor
Posted 05 Jun
Other Top Stories
Human antibodies in the lab!
Read more
Genetic variants found to play key role in human immune system
Read more
How a nutrient, glutamine, can control gene programs in cells
Read more
Is neuro-inflammation potential early-stage pathogenic mechanism in…
Read more
Novel peripheral neuron-immune cell communication to fight infection!
Read more
Protocols
Clinical and CSF single-cel…
By newseditor
Posted 05 Jun
ChatGPT-assisted deep learn…
By newseditor
Posted 04 Jun
Turning the tide in aggress…
By newseditor
Posted 03 Jun
Mapping medically relevant…
By newseditor
Posted 01 Jun
Accessible high-speed image…
By newseditor
Posted 30 May
Publications
ARID1B controls transcripti…
By newseditor
Posted 07 Jun
Leveraging zebrafish to inv…
By newseditor
Posted 07 Jun
Aggregation-resistant alpha…
By newseditor
Posted 06 Jun
POT1 recruits and regulates…
By newseditor
Posted 06 Jun
Normal or improved cardiova…
By newseditor
Posted 06 Jun
Presentations
Hydrogels in Drug Delivery
By newseditor
Posted 12 Apr
Lipids
By newseditor
Posted 31 Dec
Cell biology of carbohydrat…
By newseditor
Posted 29 Nov
RNA interference (RNAi)
By newseditor
Posted 23 Oct
RNA structure and functions
By newseditor
Posted 19 Oct
Posters
A chemical biology/modular…
By newseditor
Posted 22 Aug
Single-molecule covalent ma…
By newseditor
Posted 04 Jul
ASCO-2020-HEALTH SERVICES R…
By newseditor
Posted 23 Mar
ASCO-2020-HEAD AND NECK CANCER
By newseditor
Posted 23 Mar
ASCO-2020-GENITOURINARY CAN…
By newseditor
Posted 23 Mar