Medicines worth knowing about
- Estrogen-containing contraceptives — combined birth-control pills, patches, and vaginal rings can increase the risk of venous blood clots. The risk is higher with factors such as smoking, obesity, older age, previous clots, or certain inherited clotting disorders.
- Hormone-replacement therapy (HRT) — some oral estrogen-containing HRT can increase clot risk; transdermal forms may have a different risk profile.
- Certain cancer treatments — some hormonal and chemotherapy treatments can increase clotting risk.
- Erythropoiesis-stimulating medicines — used for certain types of anemia, these can increase the risk of blood clots in some patients.
- Some medicines that cause significant immobility or sedation may indirectly contribute to clot risk, because prolonged inactivity itself is a risk factor.
Your everyday medicines aren’t automatically dangerous
Don’t stop a prescribed medication because of a social-media warning. The risk of an untreated medical condition can be greater than the medication’s clot risk. Your doctor or pharmacist can assess your individual risk and determine whether a medication needs changing.
Know the warning signs
A possible deep-vein thrombosis (DVT) can cause new swelling, pain, warmth, or redness—usually in one leg. A pulmonary embolism (PE) can cause sudden shortness of breath, chest pain (especially with breathing), rapid heartbeat, coughing up blood, dizziness, or fainting.
Sudden difficulty breathing, severe chest pain, coughing up blood, or fainting requires emergency medical attention.
If you give me the names of the pills you’re taking, I can explain which ones are associated with blood-clot risk and what precautions are appropriate.
