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Taken Depo Provera Birth Control Injection And Pills. History Of Mitral Valve Prolapse. Risks Involved?
Question: I am a 47 year old woman.
I was diagnosed with mitral valve prolapse when I was in college and have always taken antibiotics before dental work, etc.
One month ago, I was taken off of the Depo Provera birth control injection (due to slightly low bone density) and put on a low dosage birth control pill.
This morning, I looked up this particular medication and saw that it is not recommended to take birth control pills with any type of heart valve defect.
I immediately called my doctor and spoke to his nurse to find out if mvp was a severe enough issue to stop taking the pill. She suggested I consult a cardiologist to get the answer to this question. But she told me to stop taking the pill immediately until I found the answer.
I was diagnosed with mitral valve prolapse when I was in college and have always taken antibiotics before dental work, etc.
One month ago, I was taken off of the Depo Provera birth control injection (due to slightly low bone density) and put on a low dosage birth control pill.
This morning, I looked up this particular medication and saw that it is not recommended to take birth control pills with any type of heart valve defect.
I immediately called my doctor and spoke to his nurse to find out if mvp was a severe enough issue to stop taking the pill. She suggested I consult a cardiologist to get the answer to this question. But she told me to stop taking the pill immediately until I found the answer.
Hello,
Thank you for your query.
There are some concerns in the medical literature about the actions of the pill in increasing the risks of clotting in veins (deep vein thrombosis), increased risks of heart attacks and strokes especially in those patients with severe mitral valve prolapse and mitral valve regurgitation.
Asymptomatic patients with mild mitral valve prolapse detected on echo and without any significant valve regurgitation are NOT at increased risk from birth control pills, especially if the estrogen content is low.
Since you are over the age of 35, you should consider an alternate form of contraception if you are a smoker, if you have diabetes, hypertension or abnormal cholesterol levels, if you have had a previous episode of venous thrombosis, stroke or heart attack, or if you suffer from migraine.
If you have had an echocardiogram done recently to evaluate the present status of mitral valve prolapse, you can upload the result/report on this website so that I can give you a more specific answer.
Feel free to contact me again for any further clarifications.
With regards,
Dr RS Varma
Thank you for your query.
There are some concerns in the medical literature about the actions of the pill in increasing the risks of clotting in veins (deep vein thrombosis), increased risks of heart attacks and strokes especially in those patients with severe mitral valve prolapse and mitral valve regurgitation.
Asymptomatic patients with mild mitral valve prolapse detected on echo and without any significant valve regurgitation are NOT at increased risk from birth control pills, especially if the estrogen content is low.
Since you are over the age of 35, you should consider an alternate form of contraception if you are a smoker, if you have diabetes, hypertension or abnormal cholesterol levels, if you have had a previous episode of venous thrombosis, stroke or heart attack, or if you suffer from migraine.
If you have had an echocardiogram done recently to evaluate the present status of mitral valve prolapse, you can upload the result/report on this website so that I can give you a more specific answer.
Feel free to contact me again for any further clarifications.
With regards,
Dr RS Varma
Note: For further queries related to coronary artery disease and prevention, click here.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Aparna Kohli
Answered by
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