A Canadian mother-of-two is issuing a grave warning to travelers after her birth control triggered a life-threatening blood clot during a long-haul flight to Dubai. Emily Jansson, 34, from Kingston, Ontario, was traveling from Toronto to Dubai International Airport on February 5, 2025, for a girls’ getaway when she suddenly collapsed on the plane due to a bilateral saddle pulmonary embolism—a rare and potentially fatal blood clot that blocks both lungs.
After sleeping for 10 hours during the 13-hour flight, Emily got up for the first time to use the bathroom. As she waited outside the restroom, she experienced sharp chest pain and coughed lightly before blacking out. “Suddenly, it was like the lights were on and then off. I had completely blacked out for five minutes and couldn’t remember anything afterwards,” she recalled.
Emily struck her head during the fall, bruising her eye and arm, and was unable to recall events immediately after regaining consciousness. “I was lucky there was a doctor on board and some very amazing, competent flight attendants. They gave me an oxygen tank, carried me to business class, and laid me down. I was vomiting profusely and sweating. I had no idea what was happening, but I was fairly sure this was a near-death experience.”
Upon landing, Emily was rushed to Rashid Hospital in Dubai, where CT scans and an angiogram revealed the severe clot lodged at the bifurcation of her pulmonary artery. She was hospitalized for six days and underwent thrombolytic therapy and clot-dissolving treatment. Doctors told her it was a “miracle” she survived, given the two-and-a-half-hour delay before she received hospital care, according to the Irish Star.
Emily later learned her condition was likely caused by a combination of prolonged immobility, wearing compression stockings, and taking Zamine, an estrogen-based birth control pill she had been on for six years. “Apparently, estrogen birth control, compression stockings, and sitting down for 10 hours was the perfect storm. I was restricting my body’s blood flow, which contributed to my clot developing,” she explained.
“I had little idea about the danger I was in,” she said. “I’m an active person with the heart of an athlete from my intense cardio workouts. So it’s important that people know about the risks of this particular birth control, Zamine, and the safety of flying.”
Now on anticoagulant medication for at least six months, Emily hopes her experience raises awareness for other travelers. “If you’re on a long-haul flight, make sure you move around and let your body breathe,” she advised. “I was fortunate that there was a doctor on board and some very amazing, competent flight attendants. They essentially saved my life when it shouldn’t have been possible.”
