Birth control pills can double stroke risk

 
  Double your fun? I think not!


The Pill still has the potential to kill (babies as well as moms):

Oral contraceptives can nearly double the risk of stroke in women, a U.S. review of studies finds.

Dr. Jose Biller, Dr. Michael J. Schneck and Dr. Sarkis Morales-Vidal, all Loyola University Health System neurologists, say oral contraceptives used today contain much lower concentrations of estrogens than older preparations.

The review, published in MedLink Neurology, found there were about 4.4 ischemic strokes for every 100,000 women of childbearing age, but birth control pills increase the risk of stroke 1.9 times, to 8.5 strokes per 100,000 women.

However, for women who take birth control pills and also smoke, have high blood pressure or have a history of migraine headaches, the stroke risk was significantly higher. Read the entire story here.
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