Yaz Blood Clots
Blood clots are among the serious side effects of Yaz and have changed the lives of women taking these ‘fourth generation’ birth control pills. Many women with no family history of blood clots have suffered life-threatening injuries involving blood clots in the legs, arms, lungs, eye and brain.
A blood clot is essentially a thickened mass of blood that forms to stop bleeding. However, when a clot forms within the blood vessel, the obstruction can burst or prevent blood from pumping throughout the body.
FDA exposes risk of blood clots
In 2011, the Food and Drug Administration released the results of a study that suggested women who take fourth generation birth control pills containing drospirenone have a significantly higher risk of developing a blood clot. As a result of the findings, an advisory panel to the agency voted in favor of action on the part of Bayer to provide consumers with more information about the risks of blood clots.
Symptoms of blood clots
Signs of blood clots may not always be obvious and may include:
- Severe headaches
- Swelling / pain in legs or arms
- Sharp pain in the chest
- Pain, tenderness in one leg
- Temperature difference in the legs
- Shortness of breath
- Rapid heart rate
- Sudden cough
- Blurry vision / double vision / loss of vision
Conditions caused by blood clots
A Yaz blood clot can cause added complications such as:
- pulmonary embolism (blood clots in the lung)
- deep vein thrombosis (blood clots in the legs).
- heart attack
- stroke
Such health emergencies may arise when blood clots travel throughout the body. If the body fails to dissolve the obstruction on its own, serious health problems may follow. Women who survive these types of injuries may need to take blood thinners or other anticoagulant medications throughout their lives in order to avoid another episode.
Blood clots are at the center of thousands of lawsuits currently pending throughout the country. The first bellwether trial in the Yaz multidistrict litigation was recently delayed after supervising Judge Herndon issued an order for the parties to enter mediation. Meanwhile, thousands of women who have battled blood clots of their own contemplate the possible outcomes of their own cases.
