14 DAY TRIAL // Evidence at hand indicates that birth control pills correlate with an increase in stroke risk. In some cases, the risk is so great that it would be wise to discourage women from taking them, researchers write in a recent report in the journal MedLink Neurology.
It is estimated that, on a global scale, around 100 million women use birth control pills or have at least turned to them in the past, the specialists behind this report say.
In the case of perfectly healthy women, birth control pills appear to up the risk of suffering an ischemic stroke, i.e. a stroke resulting from the formation of a blood clot in the brain, from 4.4 cases to 8.5 cases per 100,000 women, the research team explains.
Although small, this increase in ischemic stroke is nonetheless significant, say study leaders Marisa McGinley, Sarkis Morales-Vidal and Jose Biller at Loyola University.
Then, in the case of women who have a history of migraines, smoke or have high blood pressure - all of which count as stroke risk factors - the odds to have a blood clot form in the brain and cause significant damage are even greater, the specialists point out.
So much so that it might be a wise idea to discourage these women from taking oral contraceptives. “The risk seems higher and, in most cases, oral contraceptive use should be discouraged,” the Loyola University team caution, as cited by Science Daily.