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BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Information on the incidence of vascular disease in women of reproductive age has been limited. These disease are rare in this age group, and a large population base is required for reliable estimation of incidence. METHODS: For a case-control study of vascular disease and low-dose oral contraceptive use, we used emergency department logs and hospital admission and discharge records to ascertain fatal and nonfatal cases of first-ever stroke and myocardial infarction (MI) in women 15 to 44 years of age who were-members of a large California HMO. Incidence rates of stroke and MI were calculated on the basis of these data. RESULTS: The incidence of MI not associated with pregnancy was 5.0 per 100,000 women-years. The incidence of stroke not associated with pregnancy was 10.7 per 100,000 women-years. MI was very rare until age 35 years. At every age, about half of hemorrhagic strokes were due to subarachnoid hemorrhage. CONCLUSIONS: The incidence rates of stroke and MI are low in women of reproductive age in the United States.
Petitti et al. (Sat,) studied this question.