A teenager died from a blood clot caused by taking the contraceptive pill - after she thought her headache was just a hangover. Áine Rose Hurst, 19, collapsed and was rushed to Royal Bolton Hospital on Tuesday, March 11, where doctors found she had "severe brain swelling" before she died two days later.
Áine’s mum, Kerry Hurst, 52, said her daughter had been on a night out on the Saturday (March 8) and complained of a headache the following morning. Believing Áine had a hangover, she told her to take paracetamol and drink water – but the headache continued to get worse.
An inquest into her death at Bolton Coroner's Court on Thursday (November 27) heard a rare complication from the contraceptive pill - which she had been taking since 2020 - caused Áine’s untimely death. Her family question why she was told to remain on the medication when concerns had already been raised about their daughter's blood pressure.
A statement from her family paid tribute to the “most beautiful, caring, funny and sensible girl”. They said: “Áine adored her parents, her brother, her grandparents, her aunts, uncles, cousins, boyfriend and friends. She was the life and soul of every gathering and was often heard before she was seen as she had the loudest voice ever.
“She loved nothing more than a family get-together where she insisted on karaoke and a quiz where she was always the quiz master. This made her family laugh due to her struggling to pronounce most of the words in the questions. We would give anything to hear her ask one more question.
“Our family is distraught at losing her, life will never be the same for us without our girl.”
In a statement read by area coroner Peter Sigee, the family explained that Áine had been taking the combined contraceptive pill, Femodette, but was told to stop after a routine check in December 2024 had shown her blood pressure to be high. But after an appointment with her GP the next month, Áine, of Somerville Square in Halliwell, was told to start taking the pill again.
The family said they were “deeply concerned” that the GP “didn’t take into consideration the recent history of high blood pressure” and want to know what measures are in place “to ensure this doesn’t happen again”. Áine’s cause of death was given as cerebral venous sinus thrombosis, with the oral contraceptive pill as a “potential contributing factor”.
Dr Zeeshan Malik, a consultant in intensive care and anaesthesia at Royal Bolton Hospital, said that he “wasn’t satisfied that it was just the pill” and would have needed more tests to rule out alternatives. Emma Walker, a nurse for the Bolton GP Federation, met Áine for a routine review on December 18, 2024 and found her blood pressure was elevated - at 140/93 - “which was unusual”.
She checked Áine’s blood pressure three times during the appointment, said the reading was “exactly the same” each time and told her to stop taking the pill and see her GP. The inquest heard no concerns had been raised at any of her yearly check-ups before 2024.
Dr Moyinoluwa Oluwaseyi Onayade met with Áine at Spring House Surgery on January 6 and said she had told him "she would like to go back on the pill as soon as possible”. He said he had discussed switching her to the progesterone-only pill, but that she had “declined going on because of the side effects”.
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