Fit and healthy woman collapsed and died five months after being prescribed the Pill


Charlotte Foster, pictured with parents Cecilia and Stephen at her graduation, died from a blood clot caused by the Pill

A normally fit and healthy young woman who died from a blood clot caused by the Pill after it spread to her lungs and triggered brain damage was told by her GP to go for a spa day when she reported her breathing difficulties.

Charlotte Foster, 23, went into cardiac arrest when she collapsed at work, five months after she started taking Dianette.

Three days later, the doctor’s daughter, from Newport, near Telford, died at the town’s Princess Royal Hospital after suffering brain damage. 

Three weeks before her death, she went back to the doctor’s complaining of back pain and shortness of breath – but medics said there were no signs of deep vein thrombosis. 

Today, at an inquest into her death, it emerged Miss Foster had undergone tests which indicated she would be high-risk if prescribed the drug.

The brand of Pill – which she wanted as both a contraceptive and to treat her acne – carries double the risk of blood clots.

But, years later, her new GP agreed to give her a continuing prescription of the medication, despite a family history of pulmonary embolism.

Her mother, Cecilia, told the inquest that her daughter suffered from heart palpitations and had messaged her family on New Year’s Eve to say her ribs hurt and that she couldn’t lie down or breathe properly.

Giving evidence to Shropshire Coroner John Ellery, Mrs Foster said her daughter asked her to go with her to an appointment with GP Sunil Simon at his practice in Newport on January 4.

Mrs Foster told the inquest: ‘He did not seem to listen to her. He told her her problem was mechanical and that she should go for a massage or a spa day.

‘Charlotte was very angry after the consultation. She was upset that no follow-up investigations had been arranged.’

Giving evidence, Dr Sunil Simon told the hearing he did not ‘specifically recall’ Miss Foster talking about shortness of breath but that it ‘may have been mentioned’.

‘When I suspect pulmonary embolism there has to be serious clinical symptoms. When I observed Charlotte I did not observe that she had shortness of breath,’ he said. 

‘This is what GPs do do every day, day in day out, and I didn’t notice any respiratory distress. The cause of her back pain was mechanical.’ 

The hearing was told how Miss Foster – who worked as a sales executive for Muller –  had a MET risk assessment in August 2011 to assess the effect of the contraceptive on her body.  

Category one shows there is ‘no restriction for the use of contraception’, while category two says ‘the advantage of using the contraceptive outweighs the risk’.

Miss Foster was found to be category three where ‘theoretical risk usually outweigh benefits of using the medication’. Her family had a history of pulmonary embolism and breast cancer.

But the hearing was told how Dr Sarah Cumberlidge later found she was a category one or two, a finding she ‘stands by’. 

She told the hearing: ‘Although her mother had suffered two pulmonary embolisms, these were when she was over 45. Her blood pressure and oxygen saturation were healthy.’

After those tests in August 2015, Dr Cumberlidge gave Miss Foster a three-month prescription of Dianette, advising her to return to the surgeryif she suffered shortness of breath.

The 23-year-old (left and right) went into cardiac arrest at work after a thrombosis – believed to have arisen in her pelvis or leg – caused a ‘massive’ embolism in her lungs

The doctor told the inquest: ‘She requested a combined oral contraceptive pill and I discussed the side effects with her.

‘I prescribed a three month course and advised if there were any problems such as shortness of breath or chest pains she should contact the surgery.’ 

The Shropshire Coroner, John Ellery, heard how Miss Foster then went back to the surgery on January 4 with pain in her lower back, extending down to her knee.

The hearing was told how she saw a different doctor. Her mother Cecilia, 60, claims her daughter complained of shortness of breath.

The hearing also heard from Dr Nigel Tuft, a consultant anaesthetist at the hospital where Miss Foster died.

He told the coroner he had multiple discussions with Miss Foster’s family and concluded that her only risk factor was the Pill.

He told the inquest: ‘The most likely site for the pulmonary embolism to arise is in the veins of the pelvis and the upper leg.

‘These can cause no symptoms whatsoever or they can cause symptoms or deep vein thrombosis.’

Today, at an inquest into her death, it emerged Miss Foster had scored highly on tests for those who would be at risk if they take Dianette – the brand of Pill she was prescribed which carries double the risk of blood clots 

Dr Nigel Tuft, a consultant anaesthetist,  described to the coroner how medics at The Princess Royal Hospital in Telford, Shropshire (pictured) had made efforts to resuscitate Miss Foster before she arrived in hospital

He  gave the cause of death as ‘hypoxic brain damage due to a pulmonary embolism due to taking the oral contraceptive pill’.  

Dr Tuft described to the coroner how medics had made efforts to resuscitate Miss Foster before she arrived in hospital.

The sales executive, who worked for dairy firm Muller, also received treatment to ease swelling to her brain. But their efforts were not successful and she died on January 25.

Dr Tuft added that CT scans had shown Miss Foster was not suffering from any tumours likely to have caused the pulmonary embolism. 

The inquest heard that there has been an awareness of a small but heightened risk of bloods clots linked to contraceptive pills since the 1970s.

A government report in 2013 said that concerns about Dianette, which is also used to treat chronic acne, had been raised in France over the risk of clots. 

Dr Tuft said: ‘We would expect the clot to have formed in the order of weeks, perhaps 10 days, before the pulmonary embolism, but it is hard to say for sure.

‘Since the 1970s there has been some evidence the contraceptive pill could lead to an increase in blood clots.

‘Normally there is a one in 10,000 risk of blood clots in normal women. That raises to two in 10,000 if you are on a number of contraceptive medication.

‘If you are on Dianette it raises to four in 10,000, which in turn increases your risk of a pulmonary embolism.

‘Health regulators have found that despite its risk of pulmonary embolisms, Dianette is still a legitimate drug to use to treat acne, but not to use as a contraceptive pill.’

Her death is one of several linked to the Pill. 

Sophie Miller, 16, of Accrington, Lancashire, died in November, and Fallan Kurek, 21, of Tamworth, Staffordshire, died in May. Both took Microgynon for eight months. 

Miss Foster, who attended Shrewsbury High School before studying at the University of Liverpool, was described as ‘intelligent, beautiful and caring’ by her parents.  

She joined Muller in June last year where she had been working as a Customer Category Executive for just over six months.  

In a statement, Charlotte’s parents Stephen, 55, and Cecilia, 60, said they had been left heartbroken.

The inquest continues.