Oral contraceptives and stroke.
Epidemiologic studies carried out in the United Kingdom and in the United States have left little doubt that oral contraceptives are a cause of deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism. The evidence linking oral contraceptives with an increased risk of cerebral thrombosis, however, is less certain. The study by the Collaborative Group for the Study of Stroke in Young Women, (p. 871) provides important new information about this association. During a two-year period from 1969- 71, neurologists from 12 university hospitals identified 598 nonpregnant women, 15 to 44 years of age, suffering from a stroke unrelated to trauma. These patients . . .