[Hypertension and oral contraceptive therapy (author's transl)]

Abstract

Twenty-nine patients, either taking oral contraceptives or having stopped since less than six months, were referred for hypertension. Three conditions have to be satisfied in order to incriminate with certainty the responsibility of oral contraceptives inducing hypertension : normal blood pressure before therapy (included pregnancies), normalization of blood pressure in a delay of three months at most after the discontinuation, no other etiology of hypertension. The small number of hypertensions really induced by oral contraceptives is opposed with the great number of hypertension (essential or not) revealed by oral contraceptives.

PIP: 29 patients were treated between 1972-77 for arterial hypertension; all patients were on OC (oral contraception). Careful investigation of these patients revealed that only in some had hypertension been caused by OC treatment, which goes against the commonly held opinion that arterial hypertension in OC patients is always caused by hormonal treatment. At least 3 conditions must be satisfied in order to incriminate the responsibility of OC in inducing hypertension: 1) normal blood pressure prior to OC treatment; 2) normalization of blood pressure within 3 months after discontinuation of OC use; and 3) no other etiology of hypertension. Arterial hypertension seems to be caused by the synthetic estrogen component of OCs; the mechanism of action is still not clear, although it has been demonstrated that it does stimulate the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system.