Venous thrombosis/thromboembolism

Venous thrombosis/thromboembolism is a rare side effect of all hormonal contraceptive methods (e.g. combined pill, ring, patch):

• Out of 10,000 women of childbearing age who do not use a combined contraceptive pill, three to 4.5 suffer from venous thrombosis/thromboembolism per year (Dinger et al., in: Contraception 2007).
• Out of 10,000 women who take a combined contraceptive pill, eight to ten suffer from venous thrombosis/thromboembolism per year (Dinger et al., in: Contraception 2007).
• The risk is higher, however, for women during pregnancy and in the weeks following childbirth. Studies have determined that in this case between 20 and 30 out of 10,000 women suffer from venous thrombosis/thromboembolism (John A. Heit, in: Annals of Internal Medicine 2005).

Women who take the combined pill and suffer from venous thrombosis/thromboembolism usually also present one or more of the following risk factors:

a personal or family predisposition for thrombosis diseases overweight

long-term immobilization (e.g. surgery, accident, long-haul flights) advanced age

It is also known that the risk of venous thrombosis/thromboembolism for all combined pills is highest during the first year of use.

Symptoms of venous thrombosis/thromboembolism can include:

swelling of the leg a feeling of heaviness in the leg pain on pressure on the inside of a foot

shortness of breath and difficulty in breathing coughing (combined with coughing up blood)

A physician should be consulted in the event of these symptoms, especially if they are acute and there is no other evident cause.