An Austin woman says birth control nearly killed her.

Patti Kelly was in a hospital bed this time last week, unsure if she'd make it out alive. In one day, her health plummeted.

"I woke up last Thursday morning with shortness of breath. I actually tried to work out that morning, and I had to stop because I could not breathe. Then, I actually coughed up a little blood so that was alarming, but being 28 and healthy, I just didn't really think much of it,” she said.

But the pain got worse and at the urging of her mom, who is a nurse, she checked herself into the emergency room. A CAT scan revealed blood clots in her lungs.

"When I was in the ER they came in and said you have multiple in both lungs and that was shocking. It wasn't just like I had one. I had multiple. I said ‘Well, how many is multiple?’ and he said, ‘I can't really count them.’ He told me if I did not come to the emergency room when I did, I could've died instantly,” she said.

It wasn't until that moment that Patti learned she was genetically predisposed to the condition. Her mom also survived a blood clot earlier in her life. It just wasn't anything they talked about.

"The doctor said that could've been a factor but the birth control is definitely a big factor,” she said.

Gynecologist Jason Bosco, M.D. says it's a conversation women must have with family and their doctors before taking birth control.

"Most patients that take birth control do just fine without getting a major cardiovascular event, but we do know the risk is twice to maybe three times as high as it would be if you were not taking birth control pills,” Bosco said.

Patti will now have to take six months of blood thinners and stay under the close watch of a doctor for the rest of her life. She has this advice for women, “If you have symptoms like I had not to wait, to go to the ER immediately even one of the symptoms, don't wait because it could be life threatening."

Doctor Bosco says blood clots start in your legs. Symptoms to watch out for are swelling on one side, pain or discoloration, tenderness to the touch and warmth on one side that you don't feel on the other. The risks increase as you age.

Patti says the doctors in the ER told her they’re seeing more and more young women come in with the same problem.