Abnormal Uterine Bleeding Associated With Hormonal Contraception.

Abnormal uterine bleeding is a common and bothersome symptom in people using hormonal contraception, and it can lead to discontinuation of reliable methods of contraception and unintended pregnancies. Clinicians should counsel individuals about the potential for abnormal bleeding at initiation of the contraceptive method. After considering and excluding other potential causes of abnormal uterine bleeding, clinicians can offer treatment options specific to each hormonal contraceptive method. This article includes algorithms to help clinicians treat abnormal uterine bleeding in people using levonorgestrel intrauterine devices, depo-medroxyprogesterone acetate, progestin implant, progestin-only pills, and combined hormonal contraception. For patients with levonorgestrel intrauterine devices, physicians should first ensure that the device is correctly placed within the uterus, then consider nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs as a first-line treatment for abnormal uterine bleeding; estradiol can be used if nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are ineffective. For depo-medroxyprogesterone acetate or progestin implant users, combined oral contraceptives or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs may be considered. For patients using norethindrone progestin-only pills, changing to drospirenone progesterone-only pills may help reduce the bleeding. In people using combined hormonal contraception, it may be helpful to increase estrogen content from 20 mcg to 35 mcg per day, decrease the hormone-free interval (from seven to four or five days) in people using cyclic contraception, or start a trial of low-dose doxycycline. For continuous combined contraception users, adding a hormone-free interval of four or five days can help regulate bleeding patterns.

Cardiovascular disease in women: contraceptive issues and nonvalvular cardiovascular disease.

Several reproductive issues affect cardiovascular risk in women. Polycystic ovary syndrome is common and may include menstrual irregularities, hirsutism, and metabolic symptoms. Patients with this syndrome have an increased risk of impaired glucose tolerance and dyslipidemia. Hysterectomy is a common gynecologic surgery that may affect estrogen levels in women. There are conflicting data on the cardiovascular risk associated with estrogen use in women after a hysterectomy. Human papillomavirus is a newly identified risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD), but the mechanism and effect are still unknown. Contraceptives are the most commonly used prescription drugs among women in the United States. The absolute risk of CVD in young women is low; therefore, the threefold increase in risk that is associated with contraceptives is still low. Estrogen is thought to be the primary concern related to the increased cardiovascular risk associated with combined oral contraceptives. Contraceptive pills also may affect insulin, lipid, and blood pressure levels.