Birth control pills may clog your blood vessels


Long term use of oral contraceptives can increase your risk for heart disease. A study conducted at the Ghent University in Belgium suggests that birth control pill use can lead to the formation of potentially dangerous plaques in the key blood vessels. These can further lead to formation of blood clots and can compromise the blood flow to important organs such as heart or brain, causing a heart attack or stroke.
The research conducted on 1301 women aged 35 to 55 found that for every decade of pill use, the plaque increases at the rate of 20-30%. The scientists suggest that there is no need to abruptly stop the use of the pill, as more research needs to be done on this.
The bottom line is that if you intend to take birth control pills, you have to take care of your other risk factors for heart disease such as blood pressure, cholesterol and smoking.

2 Responses to "Birth control pills may clog your blood vessels"

Anonymous responded on November 19, 2007 at 12:52 PM #

Initially it was believed that there is nothing wrong with birth control pills and now it seems that they pose health risks!

Cheryl responded on November 26, 2007 at 6:31 PM #

I have been worried about this. There are so many various opinions and nothing positive as continued research is ongoing.