From Reuters ...A European study released on Tuesday has raised new concerns about the safety of women's long-term use of the birth control pill, suggesting increased risk of heart attack or stroke.
Women who had used oral contraceptives were more likely than those who did not take the pill to have a buildup of plaque in their arteries, the researchers told an American Heart Association meeting.
"The main concern is if you have higher plaque levels that you might develop a clot on one of these plaques and have a stroke or a myocardial infarction (heart attack) or sudden cardiac death," Dr. Ernst Rietzschel of Ghent University in Belgium, who led the research, told reporters...
Dr. Gordon Tomaselli, a Johns Hopkins University cardiologist and American Heart Association official, said he was surprised by the findings. "It's a bit eye-opening, I think," Tomaselli said in an interview.
He noted that the European women in the study may differ from Americans but said the findings need to be factored into the equation for women deciding whether to take the pill.
"What would I tell my daughter to do? I might suggest maybe not oral contraception," Tomaselli said.
