Adverse Effects of Hormonal Contraceptives

Although hormonal contraceptives provide an easy and effective means of birth control, their use has been limited somewhat by potentially serious side effects. In particular, contraceptive medications have been associated with cardiovascular problems such as thrombophlebitis, stroke, and myocardial infarction.153 The incidence of these adverse effects, however, seems to depend to a large extent on whether the user has other risk factors associated with cardiovascular disease (smoking cigarettes, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, and so forth).84,120,162 Likewise, cardiovascular risks may be diminished with the newer forms of hormonal contraceptives, which contain relatively less estrogen than their predecessors. 

There has been some indication that hormonal contraceptives may lead to certain forms of cancer. Some early versions of the pill were believed to cause tumors of the endometrium of the uterus. Early forms that were sequential in nature may have caused 

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