Before you freak out and throw away your pills, you’ll probably want to read this.
There’s been A LOT of talk about birth control raising your risk of blood clots, especially some of the newer kinds.
This probably isn't news to most people — it's a well-known side effect that's been in the prescription information forever. And in the past few years, more and more studies have looked at the risk of blood clots associated with newer birth control options, like the ring, the patch, and oral contraceptives with new kinds of progestin (like Yasmin or Yaz, which contain the progestin drospirenone).
SO here's what you need to know about your blood clot risk and how it's impacted by which birth control you use:
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Here’s what a blood clot actually is:
When you get a cut or scrape, blood clotting is a normal thing that happens to stop the bleeding. But when a clot forms in a vein or artery, it can be dangerous and sometimes fatal. Blood clots in veins are called venous thromboembolism (VTE), which refers to two different kinds of clotting complications and affects about 300,000 to 600,000 people in the U.S. each year. Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is when a clot forms in a major vein (like in your legs, arms, or pelvis). Pulmonary embolism (PE) is when a clot detaches and travels to the heart or lungs, where it cuts off blood flow.
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Doctors aren't always sure what causes a clot, but there are some things that can raise your risk of developing one.
Some of the main risk factors for VTE are major surgery, being hospitalized for an acute illness, immobility, cancer, obesity, and trauma to your legs, ankles, hips, or pelvis, Dr. John Heit, professor of medicine in the Division of Cardiovascular Diseases at Mayo Clinic, tells BuzzFeed Life. For women, the risk of clots is also higher during pregnancy, right after giving birth, when taking hormone therapy, and when taking many types of hormonal birth control. There's also evidence that the risk of blood clots in veins is somewhat inherited, says Heit.
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Yes, being on some kinds of birth control can slightly raise your risk of blood clots. But not all of them.
The best evidence shows that the estrogen and progestin in birth control increases the concentration of blood clotting components, which increases the risk of developing a clot, says Heit. However, the hormonal and copper IUDs have not been shown to increase your risk, says Gunter.