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| POSTED 8/8/2006 |
Blood Pressure Medication
Linked To Birth Defects
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ACE inhibitors, a class of blood pressure medication that work by relaxing blood vessels and increasing blood flow to the heart, have been found to dramatically raise the risk of birth defects in children whose mothers took them during their first trimester of pregnancy. The findings were recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
The study found that 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 blood pressure medications were not found to raise the risk of birth defects when taken during the first trimester.
The researchers do not recommend stopping treatment because uncontrolled blood pressure can harm the mother and the fetus. They do, however, recommend switching to another type of blood pressure medication. Moreover, women who are trying to conceive should also ask their physicians about their medication options.
The study findings were based on an analysis of Medicaid records on 29,507 infants born in Tennessee between 1985 and 2000. Of those, 411 had mothers who had taken a blood pressure medication at least once during their first trimester, including 209 who had taken ACE inhibitors.
About 7 percent of babies exposed to ACE inhibitors developed major birth defects, including holes in the heart and neurological and kidney problems, compared with about 2 percent whose mothers did not take any medications to lower blood pressure.
The FDA said more research is needed before it considers changing the warning labels to specifically include the risks during the first trimester. Its website, however, now carries a detailed warning of the effects of ACE inhibitors on the fetus.
Date Posted: August 8, 2006 |
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