Birth control pills taken orally may increase risk of ischemic stroke among women who show evidence of other stroke risk factors, according to a paper in MedLink Neurology.
The paper notes oral contraceptives may increase stroke risk due to the fact they raise blood pressure and make blood more likely to clot, which causes ischemic strokes. Birth control pills do not increase the risk of hemorrhagic strokes.
The paper's authors suggest physicians should consider the type and dose of estrogen or progestin and route of administration when prescribing oral contraceptives to women who have other stroke risk factors, such as cigarette smoking and migraine headaches. The ischemic stroke risk for women who do not display other stroke risk factors is low.
"In women with other stroke risk factors, the risk seems higher and, in most cases, oral contraceptive use should be discouraged," paper authors and Maywood, Ill.-based Loyola Medicine neurologists Sarkis Morales-Vidal, MD, and José Biller, MD, wrote.