What Every Woman Needs to Know About Blood Clots

As an attending physician in Ottawa, I often treat women who are recently diagnosed with a blood clot. My female patients are of all ages — from young women to the elderly — but they often have one thing in common: They never expected to get a blood clot.

Indeed, many female patients have no idea about the possible risk factors they face as women. While blood clots affect up to 900,000 people each year in the United States, women face unique risk factors, in particular if they use estrogen-containing oral contraceptives, are pregnant, or are in the period up to three months postpartum, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

In recognition of Blood Clot Awareness Month throughout March, we should take time to understand women’s blood clot risks, signs, symptoms and prevention strategies.

Risks of Estrogen-Containing Birth Control

Several factors increase a woman’s risk of developing blood clots. Estrogen-containing combined hormonal oral contraceptives (birth control) can elevate the chance of a blood clot, which affects about 10 in 10,000 individuals on estrogen-containing birth control per year, per the CDC.