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Dr. Kim Mulvihill reporting More bad news for women taking combination hormone therapy. Taking estrogen along with progestin doubles a woman's risk of developing certain blood clots, which can lead to death.
Gail was sitting at her desk when her legs swelled and ached so badly, she went to the hospital. Gail found out she had deep vein thombosis, a blood clot.
She also had a pulmonary embolus, which occurs when part of the bloodclot breaks off and travels to the lung. That can be fatal.
Gail had been taking estrogen plus progestin, or combination hormone therapy. A new study in the Journal of the American Medical Association examined the association between the therapy and blood clots.
A placebo is a sugar pill. Researchers from the women's health initiative conducted the study. Women over age 70 or women who are obese are at greatest risk for developing blood clots.
As for Gail, she's made some changes.
She wants other women to be warned about the risk of hormone therapy and blood clots
The study also found aspirin didn't help. Women on hormones who took aspirin to thin their blood were still at risk for blood clots.
