Blood pressure drugs raise birth defect risk
Some blood pressure drugs previously thought to
be safe when taken early in pregnancy now appear to substantially raise the risk
of major birth defects...
Some blood pressure drugs previously thought to be safe when taken early in pregnancy now appear to substantially raise the risk of major birth defects, doctors say.
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, a large study in Tennessee found. Other types of blood pressure drugs did not raise the risk to babies.
The research raises troubling questions about the lack of safety data for many drugs prescribed to pregnant women.
According to 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.
The FDA said more research is needed before it considers changing the warning label to specifically include the risks during the first trimester.
The sale of ACE inhibitors results in billions of dollars for each company involved in their production and marketing. How long do you think it will take the FDA to respond actively to this danger?
Posted: Thu - June 8, 2006 at 07:37 AM