ACE inhibitors may cause birth defects

If you took blood pressure medication during pregnancy, the medication caused birth defects or the death of your baby, and you want to talk to a birth defect lawyer in Texas, contact Jim S. Adler & Associates.  A Texas injury attorney will evaluate your case for free.

A shocking new study from the New England Journal of Medicine revealed that blood pressure drugs previously thought to be safe when taken early in pregnancy are now directly linked to a substantial raise in the risk of major birth defects.

A large study in Tennessee found babies whose mothers took ACE inhibitors in their first trimester were more than twice as likely to be born with serious heart and brain problems than those not exposed to any pressure-lowering medicines. Other types of blood pressure drugs did not raise the risk to babies.

Close to 8 percent of pregnant women develop high blood pressure, which can lead to a heart attack or stroke. Exactly how many pregnant women have taken ACE inhibitors or other blood pressure medications is unclear. A national survey found the number of ACE inhibitor prescriptions given to women of childbearing age increased from 1.4 million in 1995 to 2.7 million in 2002.

Based on the new findings, taking these drugs during early pregnancy "cannot be considered safe and should be avoided," lead researcher Dr. William Cooper, a Vanderbilt University pediatrician, said in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine.

"This is a wake-up call. We need to learn more about these drugs to offer better advice to pregnant women," said Dr. J.M. Friedman, a medical geneticist at the University of British Columbia.

In 2005 U.S. sales of ACE inhibitors topped $3.8 billion, with about 150 million prescriptions filled, according to IMS Health, a pharmaceutical information company. The top-sellers include Lotrel, Altace and Lisinopril.

If ACE Inhibitors have injured or caused the death of your child please contact Jim S. Adler & Associates. We are a nationally recognized firm founded in 1973 on the principles of justice, hard work, integrity and honesty. We are committed to providing exemplary legal service.

Additionally, Jim S. Adler & Associates has offices located at City Place Building, 2711 North Haskell Ave., Suite 2100 LB40, Dallas, Texas 75204-2887; San Pedro Plaza, 7330 San Pedro Ave., Suite 700, San Antonio, Texas 78216-6237; and Bank of America, 12605 East Freeway, Suite 400, Houston, Texas 77015-5619 (serving Channelview, Texas).