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Summary:
Oral Contraceptives Can Increase Risk of Strokes in “Migrainous
Women”
Oral contraceptives are known to be an independent
risk factor for strokes, particularly in individuals who smoke, are
over the age of 35, or have a history of hypertension.
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According to a study published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ),
migraines have been reported as a risk factor for strokes in males
and in pre-menopausal women. The BMJ study also cited other studies
that showed a substantially increased risk of stroke in women who
had migraines and who used oral contraceptives. The researchers of
that study advised that women should stop taking oral contraceptives
if their migraine changed from simple to more severe. However, at
the time of the writing of this article, no formal studies had
examined whether a change in migraine type on starting oral
contraceptives is a predictor of strokes in women. According to this
study, oral contraceptives are known to be an independent risk
factor for strokes, particularly in individuals who smoke, are over
the age of 35, or have a history of hypertension. This risk is lower
in women who use a low dose of contraceptives. The effects of
migraines among women taking either low or high dose oral
contraceptives upon the risk of developing a stroke have been
previously un-established. For this reason, researchers aimed to
investigate the association between migraines and strokes in young
women. The case-controlled study consisted of women aged 20-44
years, based in five European countries, one-quarter of women who
had had a stroke reported a personal history of migraine and
one-quarter reported a family history of migraine. Overall,
researchers found the risk of stroke among European women of
childbearing age was increased more than three times if they
experienced migraines. The researchers also found that a coexistence
of risk factors such as the use of oral contraceptives, high blood
pressure, or smoking had multiple effects on the odd ratios for
strokes associated with migraines alone. 1
1Migraine
and Stroke in Young Women: Case-Control Study,
British Medical Journal, Vol. 318, January 2, 1999, pp. 13-18.
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