Yaz, Yazmin, & Ocella Lawsuits
Health issues affecting women are an important part of the Goldberg Law practice. You may have seen recent ads by the makers of Yasmin and Yaz birth control pills. The FDA has warned that these products can lead to increased levels of potassium in high-risk women, which can be dangerous. In particular, if a woman's potassium levels are too high, it can cause serious heart problems and other complications.
YAZ, YASMIN, OCELLA
Yaz is a combination birth control pill containing drospirenone and ethinyl estradiol. It is marketed not only as a contraceptive pill, but as a proven treatment for premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD), a condition with severe emotional and physical premenstrual symptoms. Yaz is also marketed as an effective treatment for moderate acne. However, studies indicate that Yaz poses a particular health hazard because one of its two primary ingredients, drospirenone, is a diuretic, which can cause an increase in potassium levels in the blood and lead to hyperkalemia, which causes heart rhythm disturbances that can cause blood clots leading to sudden cardiac death or pulmonary embolism or strokes. Diuretics can also cause significant problems with the gallbladder, leading to gallbladder removal. We are investigating claims with documented use of Yaz and a diagnosis of heart attack, stroke, pulmonary embolism, MT, or gallbladder removal.
If you or someone you know has suffered a heart attack, stroke, blood clots or seizure while using Yasmin and/or Yaz or the generic product Ocella birth control pills, and you would like more information, the experienced drug liability attorneys at Goldberg Law Offices are available for a free consultation. Yasmin and Yaz are birth control pills manufactured by Bayer Healthcare. Yasmin and Yaz contain the same estrogenic compound, ethinyl estradiol, that has been used in the Pill since the 1970s, but the progestin in Yasmin and Yaz is new. 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, called Ocella.
Drospirenone causes an increase in potassium levels in the blood. The FDA has warned Bayer that “increased serum potassium can be dangerous.” In fact, excess serum potassium can lead to a condition known as hyperkalemia. 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.
In addition, Yasmin and Yaz are marketed to reduce water retention and bloating often associated with premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD). However, too much loss of fluids can lead to dehydration, which also increases the risk of blood clots. If Yasmin or Yaz lead to excessive loss of fluids resulting in dehydration, women using these products can be at an increased risk of blood clots.
FDA Reports of Deaths among users of Yasmin and Yaz
From the first quarter of 2004 through the third quarter of 2008, well over 50 reports of death among users of Yasmin and Yaz have been filed with FDA. These include numerous deaths with reported cardiac arrhythmia, cardiac arrest, intracardiac thrombus (blood clots in the heart), pulmonary embolism (blood clot in the lungs) and stroke in women in their child bearing years. Some of the deaths occurred in women as young as 17 years old. Significantly, reports of elevated potassium levels are frequently included among the symptoms of those suffering fatalities while using Yasmin or Yaz.
If you or a loved one suffered serious injury or if your loved one suffered death while using Yasmin, Yaz or the generic product Ocella, the experienced drug liability attorneys at Goldberg Law Offices are available for a free consultation.
