Yaz Birth Control Side Effects are linked to Stroke, Blood
Clots, Heart Attacks, gall bladder injury and other life-threatening side effects
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Yaz/Yasmin Information
The use of the birth control Yaz/Yasmin has been associated with serious side effects, which include pulmonary embolism, stroke, deep vein thrombosis (DVT), heart attack, and even death.
Since 2004, at least 50 deaths have been reported in women taking Yasmin and similar contraceptives. Some of these women were as young as 17.
A key ingredient in these drugs can raise blood potassium levels and cause:
Heart attack
Stroke
Gallbladder disease
Kidney disease
Pulmonary embolism
Deep vein thrombosis
Venous Thromboembolism (VTE)
Liver tumors
Death
Yasmin and Yaz are birth control pills manufactured by Bayer Healthcare. The generic brand Ocella is marketed and distributed by Barr Laboratories, Inc. They are combination oral contraceptives [COCs], meaning that like most birth control pills, they contain an estrogenic component and a progestational component. These steroidal components work together in COCs to suppress ovulation, fertilization and implantation and thus prevent pregnancy.
Yasmin and Yaz: Birth Control Pills with a “Fourth Generation” Progestin
While Yasmin and Yaz contain the same estrogenic compound, ethinyl estradiol that has been used in the lower dose Pill, or COCs, for decades, the progestin in Yasmin and Yaz is unique. Yasmin and Yaz both contain drospirenone, a “fourth generation” progestin. No other birth control pills contain drospirenone, except for a recently approved generic version of Yasmin and Yaz, marketed by Teva under the trade name Ocella. In addition, a newly approved hormonal product for menopause called Angeliq contains drospirenone.
Because drospirenone is new, there are not decades of data available to support its safe use as there are with the second generation progestins. Studies which were done before FDA approval, however, indicate that drospirenone has certain effects that are different than those of traditional second generation progestins and potentially more dangerous. Specifically, drospirenone causes an increase in potassium levels in the blood, which can lead to a condition known as hyperkalemia if the potassium levels become too high. Hyperkalemia can cause heart rhythm disturbances, such as extrasystolies, pauses or bradycardia.
If left untreated, hyperkalemia can be fatal. In particular, if hyperkalemia disrupts the normal heart rhythms, the flow of the blood through the heart can be slowed to the point that it permits blood clots to form. Blood clots in the heart can then lead to heart attacks, or break off and travel to the lungs where they can cause pulmonary embolus, or travel to the brain causing stroke.
Yaz/Yasmin links:
According to a new study published in the British Medical Journal, Yaz and Yasmin, carry a higher risk of blood clots compared with others birth control bills. New York Times (9/25/09): “Health Concerns Over Popular Contraceptives.”
“The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is requiring Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals to run ads correcting claims about a popular birth control pill. Federal health officials said previous ads overstated the ability of the birth control pill Yaz to cure acne or reduce premenstrual mood swings and played down potential health risks,” The New York Times reported this year. New York Times (2/9/09): “A Birth Control Pill That Promised Too Much.”