Kathryn shares her story and, after a life-threatening blood clot, stresses the importance of weighing the benefits of any medication against its risks.
I love running and it seems that my love for running saved my life. I regularly ran 5 to 10 kilometers with a steady heart rate and no issues. One day, however, I was running and began to experience shortness of breath. This caused my initial concern. Then, my heart rate was much higher than usual. I wasn’t even able to complete a 1 kilometer run that day.
At first, I brushed it aside, blaming the pain I was experiencing on a new sports bra. Soon, I developed a persistent cough and breathing deeply hurt my left shoulder, upper back, and side. By now, I was struggling to breathe properly so I was taken to the emergency department.
After a D-dimer blood test showed that I had elevated clotting proteins, I was taken for a scan where doctors found multiple, large blood clots in both of my lungs, as well as some dead lung tissue. According to my doctor, the fitness levels I had achieved through running gave my body the strength to keep me going despite the clots in my lungs.
The only risk factor I had at the time was the contraceptive pill. The benefits of any medication or drug need to be balanced with its risks. I’m lucky to be here to share my story and to highlight a serious blood clot risk associated with combined hormonal birth control pills.
