The data do not justify screening all women being prescribed oral contraceptives at this time, she said, calling such a wide generalization of results premature. Testing might be appropriate, however, in women who have lupus, a personal or family history of autoimmune or thrombotic disease, or abnormalities in normal blood work, she said, suggesting low platelet or elevated activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT) could be cause for concern.
The study “definitely raises awareness of the importance of taking a careful history and cautioning any women on oral contraceptives not to smoke,” Dr. Kirchoff-Torres said.
The Netherlands Heart Foundation and Leducq Foundation supported the study, and the U.S. National Institutes of Health grants supported the editorial. The authors said that they had no conflicts of interest.