Charlie HurstThe family of a 19-year-old woman who thought she was hungover before she died suddenly from a blood clot linked to a birth control pill is urging others to consider the risks associated with the medication.
An inquest heard Áine Rose Hurst from Bolton died from a blood clot in her brain caused by a rare side effect of the contraceptive pill, Femodette.
Her brother, Charlie Hurst, 27, wants to raise awareness of the “dangerous” side effects of birth control medications .
He said: “Nobody thinks it will happen to them, everybody always assumes it will be someone else. But Áine was a normal, healthy girl taking this pill for four years without it affecting her. And then one day it did.”
Charlie HurstMs Hurst’s life had been full of friends and family.
“Of the hundreds of people who went to her funeral, I think half of them could probably say she was their best friend to some extent or another,” Mr Hurst said.
On Saturday 8 March, Ms Hurst had been on a night out and the headache she woke up with on the Sunday was, at first, brushed off as an ordinary hangover.
Ms Hurst was rushed to the Royal Bolton Hospital on Tuesday 11 March and doctors discovered her severe headache was, in fact, a serious swelling on the brain.
She died two days later, leaving the Hurst family without their “baby girl”.
“At first it sort of felt like a fever dream, like it didn’t really happen,” Mr Hurst said.
“It was difficult, very difficult. She almost transcended being a sibling – it was like losing a best friend and a sister.
“None of us have ever been through anything like this before.”
After eight months, an inquest at Bolton Coroner’s Court on 27 November ruled Ms Hurst’s death was caused by an extensive cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) – a “recognised but rare side effect” of Femodette.
Charlie HurstFemodette is an oral contraception, taken daily for for 21 days, followed by a seven-day break.
Known as a combined pill, it contains two types of different hormones, oestrogen and progestogen.
Users of all combined hormonal contraceptives are at an increased risk of blood clotting, according to the British National Formulary (BNF), a pharmaceutical reference guide for the safe use of drugs by medical professionals.
The risk is particularly increased “during the first year, and possibly after restarting combined hormonal contraceptives following a break of four weeks or more”, according to the BNF.
Charlie HurstMs Hurst had been taking Femodette routinely for four years “without any side effects at all” before her annual review in December 2024, her brother said.
During this review, Ms Hurst was told her blood pressure was “unusually” high, at at 140/93mmHg, and she was instructed to immediately stop taking the contraceptive pill.
“Áine was quite an anxious girl to an extent,” her brother told Radio Manchester.
“She had taken this medication for four years and had assumed this appointment would be fine because it was just a routine check-up.
“So she came out of that appointment quite worried and immediately booked to see her GP.”
Ms Hurst met with a GP at Spring House Surgery on 6 January, where she was instructed that she could go back on Femodette as her blood pressure – now 130/90mmHg – was within the limit.
Ms Hurst was sent away with a six-month prescription and died three months later.
The inquest concluded that the medication which led to Ms Hurst’s death had been “appropriately prescribed” in line with UK guidance.
Her brother said the inquest had provided an element of relief for his family, despite the distress it caused, and that he did not hold anybody responsible for his sister’s death.
Charlie HurstThe NHS said blood clots affect up to one in 1,000 people using combined hormonal contraception like the pill.
Ms Hurst had a blood clot to the brain, known as CVST, the symptoms of which – according to Thrombosis UK – are as follows:
- Persistent headache with vomiting
- Impaired vision
- Fainting or loss of consciousness
- Motor or sensory function loss and aphasia (problems speaking)
- Many patients also have stroke-like symptoms
‘Consider these risks’
Mr Hurst said: “Taking the pill is a risk. And although the risks are minimal, the risks are there.
“Birth control like Femodette can cause blood clots in young women, which is really scary.
“Now our family just want people to consider these risks. People reading this article might think, ‘I’m on that but it’s not affected me in that way’.
“I want those people to remember that Áine had been taking this medication for years before this happened – and we never thought this would happen to us.
“If I can ask anything it would be that people look into the risks of medication they are on and check their blood pressure regularly at a pharmacy, not just at home- you can never be too sure.”