A new study has found that the most common formulation of birth control pills has been linked to a doubling of relative risk of heart attack and stroke.
Results of the new study were published in ‘The British Medical Journal (BMJ)’. Contraceptive vaginal rings and skin patches formulated in the same way were also linked to higher heart risks.
Danish researchers stressed that the absolute risk to any one woman using these pills, patches or rings remains very low.
However, they said the findings are something for doctors to think about as they prescribe contraceptives. The pill formulation in question is a combination of the hormones estrogen plus progestin, the team reported February 12.
It’s the most-prescribed type of hormonal contraception. “Although absolute risks were low, clinicians should include the potential risk of arterial thrombosis [blood clots] in their assessment of the benefits and risks when prescribing hormonal contraceptive method,” wrote researchers led by Dr. Harman Yonis of the Department of Cardiology at Nordsjaellands Hospital in Hillerod, Denmark.
According to the research team, an estimated 250 million women worldwide are thought to use some form of hormonal contraception. Prior research has linked this form of birth control to heightened cardiovascular risk.
