Ocella birth control pills (generic Yasmin) have been linked to a three-fold increased risk of blood clots, which can cause a heart attack, stroke, pulmonary embolism, DVT, and more. During a heart attack, a blood clot becomes stuck inside the artery that supplies the heart muscle with oxygenated blood.
Ocella Overview
Ocella birth control pills are a generic version of Yasmin. They are sold by the generic drug company Barr Laboratories, and they were approved for sale in the United States after receiving FDA-approval in 2008. Ocella is approved to reduce the risk of unwanted pregnancy.
The FDA recently announced that the labels on Ocella will be updated. All drospirenone-containing birth control pills must now carry a warning that drospirenone has been linked to as much as a three-fold increased risk of blood clots.
The evidence linking Ocella to blood clots has been growing since several massive studies were published in the last couple of years. These studies have found that an extra 4-6 women per 10,000 taking a drospirenone birth control pill are expected to have a blood clot. Because millions of women use a drospirenone-containing birth control pill, this translates to thousands of extra cases of blood clots, heart attacks, and other severe Ocella side effects.
Ocella and Heart Attacks
Heart attacks (or a “myocardial infarction”) occur when a blood clot clogs the artery that supplies oxygen-enriched blood to the heart muscle. The heart muscle requires oxygen-enriched blood to survive. It receives this blood via three coronary arteries.
Ocella heart attacks typically occur when a blood clot clogs a coronary artery. If circulation is not restored, the heart muscle begins to die because it is not receiving an adequate amount of blood. Damage to the heart muscle is permanent. Recovery from a heart attack is only possible when the heart muscle is not severely damaged.
When the heart muscle is severely damaged, this can cause heart failure, in which the heart is too weak to pump efficiently, and it cannot supply the rest of the body with enough blood. Heart failure may cause sudden death. It can also be prolonged. People who are suffering from this condition are often short of breath, weak, and have swelling in the legs.
An Ocella heart attack can cause irreparable damage to the heart, heart failure, permanent disability, or death.
Signs & Symptoms of an Ocella Heart Attack
The initial symptoms of an Ocella heart attack vary from person to person. They may occur suddenly and severely, or they may develop gradually over time. One common early symptom is angina, or mild chest pain that grows worse. Sometimes, the early symptoms of a heart attack can resemble indigestion. A person may try to “tough it out” instead of immediately seeking treatment.
Most women who take Ocella are relatively young, and they may believe they have a low risk of a heart attack. Unfortunately, Ocella heart attacks have occurred in women who had no previous medical history of heart attacks.
Symptoms of a heart attack may include:
- Sudden, severe chest pain that grows worse
- Discomfort in the chest, resembling tightness, fullness, or pressure in the chest that does not go away for several minutes
- Changes in consciousness, such as feeling light-headed, dizzy, sleepy, weak, or faint
- Shortness of breath, rapid breathing
- Pain or discomfort in the upper abdomen
- Sweating
- Feeling nervous, ominous, anxious
- Nausea, vomiting
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