• 13
  • January
    2012

German drug-maker, Bayer, currently faces countless lawsuits regarding their popular contraceptive Yaz, which was approved by the FDA for sale in 2006. Women alleging injuries after taking Yaz have prompted thousands of lawsuits throughout the country - blood clots are one of the common injuries claimed in the Yaz lawsuits.

Recent Yaz Studies

Various past studies have concluded there is an increased risk of cardiovascular disease while taking Yaz, including one study conducted by the FDA. However, another recent study carried out in Denmark, and published in the British Medical Journal, has also determined that birth control pills such as Yaz have a higher risk of causing blood clots.

The study - which observed 1.3 million Danish women over nine years - found that women who took newer contraceptives containing a synthetic hormone called drospirenone, such as Yaz, had a six-fold increased risk of venous thromboembolism - which is when blood clots form in the lower extremities, break up, and travel to the lungs. However, women who took older contraceptives containing a different synthetic hormone, levonorgestrel, only had a three-fold increased risk for the same type of blood clots.

Ultimately, the study concluded that women taking birth control containing drospirenone - which includes Yaz - had double the risk of venous thromboembolism when compared to other birth control pills. This conclusion mirrors the preliminary findings by the FDA which indicated a 1.5-fold increase in blood clot risk for drospirenone users.

Even with these continuing health concerns, Yaz continues to be marketed at full-throttle. Last year, in was projected that Yaz and its sister drug Yasmin had worldwide sales of $1.42 billion - and $1.5 billion the year before that. Blood clots caused by these drugs can lead to severe injuries, or even death. Women who take these forms of birth control need to be aware of the risks and hold those drug-makers responsible if they suffer blood clots.