News Tagged ‘heart attack

Study: The Pill can reduce risk of urinary tract problems

Yaz birth control 100x100 Study: The Pill can reduce risk of urinary tract problemsThere are a slew of pros and cons when it comes to birth control pills. They help prevent unwanted pregnancies, but they can increase a woman’s risk of life-threatening blood clots. Now a team of Swedish researchers have concluded that oral contraceptives may reduce a woman’s risk of developing lower urinary tract problems.

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Survey helps women choose the best birth control method for them

survey 100x100 Survey helps women choose the best birth control method for themChoosing a method of birth control is an important decision for most women. There are several factors to consider from cost and convenience to side effects and safety. With so many different birth control pills and contraceptive devices available today, women are encouraged to research their options to find the best fit for their lifestyle.

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Study: Birth control pills just as effective for obese women

obese 100x100 Study: Birth control pills just as effective for obese womenObese women have just the same protection against getting pregnant while taking birth control pills as normal-weight women, according to a study published in a recent edition of the American College of Obstetrics & Gynecology’s green journal. This finding puts into question previous studies that have suggested that obese women required higher doses of oral contraceptives for the pills to be as effective as in normal-weight women.

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Group advocates to make birth control pills available OTC

Yaz birth control 199x3001 100x100 Group advocates to make birth control pills available OTCMembers of the Oral Contraceptive Over-the-Counter Working Group are advocating to – you guessed it – make birth control pills available for women without a prescription. But it is in the best interest for women when they can carry serious and even life-threatening risks?

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Women with high blood pressure should use caution with ‘the pill’

Blood pressureWomen who have high blood pressure should use caution when taking birth control pills because the estrogen in oral contraceptives puts them at greater risk of developing blood clots and heart problems. High blood pressure affects about 74.5 million people in the United States age 20 and older.

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Women deserve safer options in birth control

birth20control 100x100 Women deserve safer options in birth controlThe contraceptive business has boomed since the birth control pill hit the market 50 years ago. Now birth control comes in the form of pills, patches, rings, implants and intrauterine devices, and the makers of such products claim they are even safer than before. Judging by the thousands lawsuits filed by women who claim they suffered life-threatening blood clots, strokes and gallbladder problems because of the contraceptives, safety may still be an issue. But Salon.com opinion editor Geraldine Sealey claims birth control pills brought on another, less known, side effect – the loss of her libido.

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Bayer’s drug sales suffer due to bad press on Yaz blood clot risk

bayer logoBayer boasted a 63.1 percent increase in net income for the first quarter of 2010, but the firm’s pharmaceutical sales were a big disappointment, according to PharmaTimes. Bayer posted increases in its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization as well as in its group turnover. However Bayer’s health care sales stayed flat while pharmaceutical revenues fell a disappointing 2.2 percent.

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Bayer adds new information about blood clot risk to Yaz, Yasmin labels

yasmin1 100x100 Bayer adds new information about blood clot risk to Yaz, Yasmin labelsBayer HealthCare has added new information on the labels of its blockbuster birth control pills Yaz and Yasmin to warn users that the risk of developing blood clots while taking the pills are similar to the risks with other oral contraceptives. The label change comes on the heels of hundreds of lawsuits filed both in the United States and Canada by women who say they were injured by Yaz or Yasmin but were not adequately warned of the risks associated with taking the pills. Bayer agreed to make the changes to the pills’ labels based on two large, multiyear studies of more than 120,000 women taking contraceptives in the U.S. and the U.K.

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Bayer has vested interest in survey results

yaz3 100x100 Bayer has vested interest in survey resultsA survey commissioned by Bayer Healthcare of 1,000 women aged 20 to 40 found that 39 percent had slept with a boyfriend by their third date. But many didn’t tell even their closest friends. As many as 11 percent slept with their most recent partner on the first date, and another 28 percent say they gave in to their sexual wantings by the second or third date. Despite all this intimacy, the poll also found that more than half of the women surveyed – 56 percent – say that the person they are sleeping with is not the person they are most comfortable discussing contraception with. Ten percent said that even discussing birth control with their doctors made them uneasy.

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Birth control pill Yaz linked to gallbladder disease

yaz120109 100x100 Birth control pill Yaz linked to gallbladder diseaseAn estimated 20 million Americans have gallbladder disease, a condition in which the bile in the gallbladder becomes concentrated and thickens. The condition most often affects people over 60 years of age, says Dr. Ronald Hoffman, an active clinician, author, radio host and lecturer. However, many young women have developed the condition, thanks to their oral contraceptive.

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