| Using birth control? Don't let your health go up in smoke |
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Most people are willing to accept side effects or potential risks of drugs needed to treat serious medical conditions. Contraception, however, holds a unique place in the pharmaceutical world as essentially the only drugs that are routinely prescribed for healthy young women. That's why recent news that the Ortho Evra contraceptive patch creates higher estrogen levels than the typical low-dose birth control pill, and might cause a higher risk of complications, has caused a lot of concern. Though the data is preliminary, it has heightened awareness that potentially serious complications can occur from using any drug # including hormonal contraception. {quote_top} Q. I heard the FDA just issued a warning about Ortho Evra causing blood clots. Why didn't they just take it off the market? A. Even if the risk of blood clots with Ortho Evra is slightly higher than other hormonal contraception (and it's not certain that that is the case), the risk is so low in nonsmoking women under 35 that a small increase doesn't necessarily translate to a high enough risk to warrant removing it from the market. The risk of blood clots from any hormonal contraception (roughly .016 percent) is still lower than the .02 percent risk of developing a blood clot during pregnancy. Women concerned about the potential slightly higher risk of complications from the patch should consider another form of contraception until more definitive data is available. Q. I know if you smoke and take birth control pills, there is a good chance you might have a heart attack. Is that also true if you use the birth control patch or ring? {quote_middle}A. Any smoker who uses hormonal contraception containing estrogen has an increased risk of blood clots, stroke and myocardial infarction (heart attack) whether it's a pill, patch or vaginal ring. Roughly 10 out of every 100,000 healthy women over 35 are at risk for heart attack. That number goes up to 40 out of 100,000 if they are using low-dose hormonal contraception, but rises to 485 of 100,000 if they smoke and use hormonal contraception. Being young does not eliminate risk # 43 of every 100,000 women a year under 35 who smoke and take the pill have a heart attack each year. Clearly, no one who uses hormonal contraception should smoke. Q. I use the Ortho Evra patch. How would I know if I have a blood clot? A. That depends on where the blood clot is. A clot in a leg vein causes a painful, swollen calf. If the clot travels to the lung (pulmonary embolism) shortness of breath, rapid pulse and sometimes chest pain occur. A blood clot that deprives the brain of oxygen (stroke) can result in loss of speech, weakness or other neurological symptoms. {quote_bottom} Lauren Streicher, M.D., practices at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. Have a topic you'd like to see in a future column? E- mail: This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it
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