Texas Safyral Pulmonary Embolism Lawyer

A pulmonary embolism occurs when a deep-vein blood clot travels to the lungs and blocks a major artery. If the blood clot is very large, it may cut off most blood flowing to the lungs, causing the lung tissue to become severely damaged. In the worst case scenario, a pulmonary embolism can cause irreversible disability or death.

Do I Have a Safyral Lawsuit? Collen A. Clark is a true advocate for his clients and is passionate about helping Texans that have been injured or wronged. If you or a loved one has been injured by blood clots, you should contact our lawyers immediately. You may be entitled to compensation by filing a lawsuit.

Overview

Safyral is a birth control pill that is sold by Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals, Inc., the same company responsible for Yasmin birth control pills. In fact, Safyral contains the same active hormones as Yasmin, but Safyral also contains added folate.

Safyral reduces the risk of pregnancy by combining two synthetic female hormones (3-mg drospirenone and 0.03-mg ethinyl estradiol) with 0.451 mg of levomefolate calcium, a folic acid B-vitamin.

It may seem strange that a medication intended to prevent pregnancy would also include a drug to prevent birth defects. The reason Safyral contains folic acid is because sometimes, rarely, women do get pregnant while taking a birth control pill. When taken exactly as directed, less than 1 woman out of 100 gets pregnant. The risk goes up when Safyral is not always taken exactly as directed — to around 9 women out of 100. Therefore, because some women get pregnant, drug-makers decided it would be a good idea to reduce the risk that their babies would have a neural tube defect. Researchers have strong evidence linking folate vitamin deficiencies to an increased risk of spina bifida, anencephaly, and more.

Safyral and Pulmonary Embolisms

The problem with Safyral is that it contains drospirenone. Drospirenone is equally effective at preventing pregnancy compared to other synthetic progestins, but several massive studies have found that drospirenone carries a slightly higher risk of blood clots than other progestins. Evidence supporting this risk has been growing for more than a decade. Just recently, in April 2012, the FDA finally announced that the warning labels on all drospirenone-containing birth control pills would be updated to include this risk information.

Safyral blood clots are a particularly deadly breed. They tend to form along vein walls deep inside the body (called Deep Vein Thrombosis or DVT). When they grow large enough, they may break away from the vein. Veins carry blood and blood clots to the heart, which then pumps a blood clot into the lungs. Once a blood clot is in the lungs, it has nowhere to go. It immediately blocks the supply of blood to the lungs. A blood clot in the lungs causes a pulmonary embolism.

Symptoms of a Safyral Pulmonary Embolism

Most birth control pills contain synthetic progestin and increase a woman’s risk of having a blood clot. Therefore, it is prudent to know the symptoms of a blood clot, DVT, and a pulmonary embolism. Pulmonary embolisms are almost always caused by DVT that occurs in the lower legs. There may or may not be symptoms. If there are, they typically involve the gradual onset of pain, warmth, discoloration, and swelling of the limb.

Although the symptoms of DVT occur gradually, the symptoms of a pulmonary embolism are often more sudden. However, they may not seem life-threatening at first. Many people delay seeking treatment because mild chest pain or shortness of breath doesn’t seem serious. However, a delay in seeking treatment can make the difference between life and death. A severe pulmonary embolism can cause death within 30 minutes.

The symptoms of a pulmonary embolism may include:

• Feelings of anxiety, unease
• Sudden, unexplainable shortness of breath
• Chest pain that may be sharp or uncomfortable, and may get worse with coughing, deep breathing, or movement.
• Pain on one side of the chest
• Rapid breathing
• Rapid heartbeat
• Losing consciousness, feeling faint, dizziness

Treatment for a Safyral Pulmonary Embolism

Most pulmonary embolisms are caused by small blood clots, and the most immediate danger is lung tissue damage. Blood-thinning medications are a mainstay of Safyal pulmonary embolism treatment. This involves oral administration of warfarin and intravenous administration of heparin. The goal of this treatment is to prevent blood platelets from sticking together and making the clots any larger, which also helps prevent a larger blood clot from traveling to the lungs and causing a life-threatening event.

When many blood clots make it to the lungs (or just one large clot), a patient can die within 30 minutes to 1 hour of the event. In these cases, aggressive therapy is required. A surgeon may need to physically remove the clot to restore circulation to the lung tissue and prevent death.

Do I have a Safyral Lawsuit?

Collen A. Clark is a true advocate for his clients and is passionate about helping Texans that have been injured or wronged.

Collen’s amazing success in the courtroom and well known dedication to his clients has earned him the recognition of his peers as one of The Top Trial Lawyers in Texas.”

The Clark Firm has assembled a team of trial lawyers with more than 100 years experience, participation in over 600 jury trials and $260 million in verdicts and/or settlements. Please use the form below to contact us for a free case review.