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Previous Volume 345:1841-1842 December 20, 2001 Number 25 Next

	Since this article has no abstract, we have provided an extract of the first 100 words of the full text and any section headings.

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The use of oral contraceptives first became widespread some 40 years ago, and reports of an excess risk of cardiovascular disease among women who used these agents soon followed. Because the risks seemed to be dose related, manufacturers created new formulations with a lower hormone content. Nonetheless, their use still carried an increased risk of myocardial infarction, mainly attributable to a striking synergistic interaction with cigarette smoking. Heavy smokers who used oral contraceptives had risks that were at least 30 times as high as those of women with neither risk factor.^1,2 These extreme relative risks contrasted with the excess risk . . . [Full Text of this Article]

References

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Hannaford, P., Vandenbroucke, J. P., Kahlenborn, C., Li, S. F., Shapiro, S., Rosendaal, F. R., Tanis, B. C., van der Graaf, Y., Chasan-Taber, L., Stampfer, M. J. (2002). Oral Contraceptives and the Risk of Myocardial Infarction. NEJM 346: 1826-1829 [Full Text]  
• (2002). Oral Contraceptives, Smoking, and the Risk for Myocardial Infarction. JWatch Women's Health 2002: 1-1 [Full Text]