In past studies, researchers have indicated that birth control pills can increase a woman’s chance of having a heart attack. Of course, there are other factors that also increase the risk smoking, women over the age of 35, high blood pressure, women with heart conditions and cardiovascular disease.
The mini-pill is relatively new and is a progestin pill only it does not contain any estrogen at all. This type of birth control pill is a good solution for women who cannot not take a pill with estrogen for any reason as well as breastfeeding mothers.
The only negative aspect of the mini-pill is that it is a 28-day cycle so there are no “sugar” pills take a normally taken during the menstrual cycle. If a woman forgets to take a pill or does not take it at the same time each day, she is more likely to become pregnant. The effectiveness of the mini-pill is estimated “1 to 13 out of 100 women who use the mini-pill for one year will get pregnant. Given the low dose of progestin, the failure rate of the mini-pill in highly fertile women is higher than that of other hormonal contraceptive methods.” According to the Mayo Clinic.
Sources: http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/health&id=7965959
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/minipill/MY00991/DSECTION=risks
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