Yasmine & Yaz Birth Control Pills

Yasmine and Yaz Birth Control Pills

Yasmine and Yaz are birth control pills manufactured by Bayer Healthcare. They are combination oral contraceptives or COCs. Like most COCs, Yasmine and Yaz contain estrogen and Progestin that work to suppress ovulation, fertilization and implantation and thus prevent pregnancy. Yasmine and Yaz were approved for marketing in 2001 and 2006 respectively.

While Yasmine and Yaz contain the same estrogenic compound that has been used in lower does birth control pills for years, the progestin in Yasmine and Yaz is unique. Yasmine and Yaz both contain the progestin, drospirenone. No other birth control pills contain dropsirenone except for a recently approved generic version of Yasmine and Yaz called Ocella and marketed by Teva Pharmaceuticals.

Because drospirenone is new, there is not a lot of data to support its safe use as there is with other progestins that have been used for years. Studies that were done to gain approval by the Food and Drug Administration or FDA indicate that the progestin, drospirenone has different effects than those associated with other progestins. Drospirenone has been linked to increased potassium levels in the blood which may lead to a condition known as hyperkalemia. If left untreated, hyperkalemia can be fatal. It can disrupt the normal rhythm of the heart and the flow of blood can be slowed to the point where blood clots form. Blood clots in the heart can cause heart attacks or they may travel to the brain and cause stroke or travel to the lungs and form pulmonary embolus. Any of these conditions can potentially cause death.

During the brief time that Yasmine and Yaz have been on the market in the United States, the FDA has received hundreds of reports of injury and death that have been associated with the use of Yasmine and Yaz. These include numerous deaths caused by fatal cardiac arrhythmias, cardia arrest, blood clots in the heart or heart attacks, pulmonary embolism (blood clots in the lungs) and stroke in young healthy women in their child bearing years.

On October 3, 2008, the FDA sent a warning letter to Bayer relating to an advertisement for Yaz in which Bayer was attempting to broaden the application or use for Yaz outside of that approved for and permitted by the FDA. The FDA further warned Bayer that the advertisement was misleading because it "failed to disclose that Yaz has additional risks because it contains the progestin, drospirenone ... which can lead to hyperkalemia in high risk patients, which may result in potentially serious heart and health problems."

The lawyers at Burke, Harvey & Frankowski are currently accepting and evaluating cases for women who have taken Yasmine or Yaz and have suffered complications including hyperkalemia, heart attack, pulmonary embolus, stroke and death. If you or someone you know has been injured after taking Yasmine or Yaz contact W. Todd Harvey or Camille L. Edwards in the Birmingham, Alabama office of Burke, Harvey & Frankowski. The toll free number is (888) 880-9046.