Heart infarction oral contraceptives

These potential benefits are balanced by a slightly increased risk of gallbladder disease, hypertension, myocardial infarction, cerebral infarction, and pulmonary embolism. The increased risk of stroke and heart attack associated with the pill is accentuated when compounded by other risk factors, including smoking, migraine headaches, and advancing age. Indeed, convincing data support an upper age limit of 35 years for oral contraceptive use by women who smoke. 

A 48-year-old woman with a low risk of atherosclerotic disease who was not taking oral contraception was admitted with sudden heavy pain in the left hypochon-drium. Routine tests were normal, but there was a triangular hypodensity in the spleen on computerized tomography consistent with a splenic infarct. There was a history of postoperative venous thrombosis 15 years before, but tests for thrombophilia were all normal. No source of embolism was identified in the heart or proximal arteries. She had repeatedly taken zolmitriptan over the previous few months for migraine, and the symptoms started 3 hours after the most recent dose. 

The combined use of tobacco with other chemicals and pharmaceuticals can have synergistic effects. For example, women who smoke and use oral contraceptives have a much greater risk for myocardial infarction than nonsmokers, t54l and a combination of cigarette smoking and elevated serum cholesterol has a synergistic effect on coronary heart disease morbidity and mortality.]55 ... 

Returning to the main theme, in April 1970, Oliver [256] also presented data supporting the view that oral contraceptives do not, on their own, increase the risk of myocardial infarction but may do so in women prone to ischaemic heart disease. 

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