Study Tallies Hormonal Birth Control Risks

Using birth control methods that combine estrogen and progestin doubles a woman’s risk of heart attack and stroke, a large, long-term study finds. But the overall risk is still very low, especially for younger, healthier women. The study was based on records for 1.6 million Danish women, ages 15 through 49. The higher risk was seen among women using hormonal pills, patches and vaginal rings. The risks were 1.5 to 2 times as high for women taking pills as for those using non-hormone birth control. Risks were 2.5 to 3 times as high for the ring and patch. No increased risk was seen for methods that used progestin only. Overall, 1 in every 4,700 women had a stroke each year. About 1 in every 9,900 had a heart attack. Most of the increase in risk was seen in older groups. For example, women ages 40 to 44 were twice as likely to have a heart attack as women 35 to 39.