(HealthScoutNews) -- The newer generations of birth control pills are much safer in terms of heart attack risk than earlier forms of the pills.

That's the finding of a joint Canadian-British overview in the September issue of Human Reproduction.

The researchers reviewed the findings of seven studies of second- and third-generation birth control pills done since 1996. The studies included 6,500 women. They found the newer forms of birth control pills, particularly third-generation oral contraceptives, showed increasing safety as far as heart attack risks are concerned.

"The data corroborate that all oral contraceptives currently on the market formally studied since 1996 as risk factors for MI (myocardial infarction/heart attack) are safe when used according to their regulatory labels. The absolute rates of occurrence of MI among users in reports since 1995 are low -- unequivocally lower than those reported earlier between 1966 and 1995," says lead investigator Walter Spitzer of McGill University in Montreal.

He and his fellow researchers concluded that even the worst interpretation of their overview still favors third-generation birth control pills in terms of heart attack risk. They found the worst relative risk for third-generation birth control pills was 0.62.

An RR of less than 1.0 indicates benefit, while an RR greater than 1.0 indicates harm.

"Our conclusions should not be interpreted as recommendations against second-generation pills or as a strong recommendation in favor of third-generation pills. With informed consent by the counseled woman, the choice of an approved oral contraceptive should always be that of the counseling clinician, based primarily on clinical judgment, one patient at a time," Spitzer says.

More information

To learn more about birth control pills, visit Planned Parenthood.

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