Oral contraceptives and cerebral arterial thrombosis.

2 cases of cerebral arterial thrombosis in women taking oral contraceptives are presented. The first was a 40 year old mother of 6 who had taken the pill for 3 years for menorrhagia. She suffered headaches with loss of visual acuity for several months and suddenly developed left-sided hemiparesis. Before conclusive diagnostic arteriography could be performed she became rigid and comatose and died 9 days later. Autopsy revealed thrombosis originating in the right vertebral artery basilar artery and continuing into the cerebral artery and infarction and edema of the right hemisphere. The second woman was 17 years old a user of the pill for 18 months. She experienced headaches throughout then was hospitalized after a seizure and left hemiplegia. 6 days later she was admitted to the University Hospital unconscious with seizures and dilated pupils. Angiography suggested thrombosis of the right carotid artery. She died the following day and autopsy confirmed the diagnosis of carotid artery thrombosis with infarction and edema of the right frontal and the rostral part of the parietal lobe.