Oral contraceptives and blood pressure
I. R. Fisch and J. Frank
Both cross-sectional and longitudinal analysis of data from 13,358 women
showed that oral contraceptive use is associated with a slight but
statistically significant (P lesser than .05) rise in mean blood pressure,
which is reversible. The age-adjusted proportion of oral contraceptive
users with a blood pressure over 140/90 mm Hg was about three times that on
nonusers. These findings are caused by a uniform upward shift in the blood
pressure distribution of oral contraceptive users compared to nonusers.
Women continuing oral contraceptive use had no appreciably greater change
in blood pressure between two visits than persistent nonusers. The clinical
implications of a mild contraceptive-induced blood pressure elevation
(systolic, 5 to 6 mm Hg; diastolic, 1 to 2 mm Hg) remain unsettled but
disturbing.
