Reported Injuries and Side Effects of ACE Inhibitors in Pregnant Women

Reported Injuries and Side Effects of ACE Inhibitors in Pregnant Women

Although ACE Inhibitors hit the market with a lot of promise, there have been recent studies that have brought the risk of taking them in some patients into serious question.  Although the risk of side effects is present in every patient, especially those with certain allergies, no group of patients is more vulnerable to damage than pregnant women.  Reported injuries and side effects of ACE Inhibitors in pregnant women have become much more prevalent in recent months, and a few of the most damaging side effects are detailed below. 

First Trimester Injuries and Side Effects

According to The New England Journal of Medicine, infants whose mothers had taken an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor (ACE inhibitors) drug during the first trimester of pregnancy had an increased risk of major congenital malformations, compared with infants who had not undergone first trimester exposure to ACE inhibitor drugs.  These injuries included irreversible damage to the infants’ hearts and brains, seriously damaging circulatory and central nervous system functions.  As a result of these reported injuries and side effects of ACE Inhibitors in pregnant women during their first trimester, the FDA is planning to take a closer look at this study to determine whether or not the drugs’ classifications need to change. 

Second and Third Trimester Injuries and Side Effects

Several sources have known for a longer period of time of reported injuries and side effects of ACE Inhibitors in pregnant women who are farther along in their pregnancies.  These sources have generally found that ACE inhibitors can cause permanent injury or even death of the developing fetus.  These deaths occur because when pregnant women take almost any type of medication, the active ingredients of this medication pass almost directly to the unborn child, and the effect of the ingredients present in ACE Inhibitors are devastating. 

What Should You Do?

If you have suffered a loss or your child has survived the birth but suffered severe injuries as a result of the presence of ACE Inhibitors, you need to contact an experienced attorney immediately.  You have no time to waste, as state and federal laws place a time limit on any claims that are brought against a defendant when an injury occurs. 

Not to mention, you should not ever try to “go it alone” against an enormous pharmaceutical company.  These companies have teams of attorneys who are trained to minimize the exposure they face, meaning that you need a trial attorney who’s experienced in the practice of taking on corporate giants so that your rights are protected. 

Birth Defects

ACE Inhibitors and Birth Defects - Information You Need

ACE Inhibitors are a class of drugs that were formulated to help patients deal with high blood pressure.  Specifically, these drugs help to curb the narrowing of blood vessels in the human body, as this narrowing effect raises blood pressure and causes hypertension.  Long term effects of high blood pressure include heart attacks and strokes. 

However, despite early promise shown by these drugs, several studies have shown a link between ACE Inhibitors and birth defects.  Specifically, the risk of birth defects increased in pregnant women who were taking ACE Inhibitors, and these birth defects included serious malformation of the heart and brain, and sometimes even fetal death. 

The earliest research showing a connection between ACE Inhibitors and birth defects pertained only to women in their second and third trimesters of pregnancy.  As a result, the FDA began to require a “black box” warning on all ACE Inhibitor labels that warned of the risks of taking these drugs inherent in pregnant women. 

In 2006, the New England Journal of Medicine published an article that further explained the connection between ACE Inhibitors and birth defects.  This study of nearly 30,000 infants born in Tennessee between 1985 and 2000 showed that even women in their first trimesters who took ACE Inhibitors were increasing the risks of birth defects in their unborn children.  These birth defects were similar to those earlier found in children whose mothers had taken these drugs later in pregnancy, and the results of these birth defects were just as irreversible and debilitating in those children who survived. 

If you have suffered damage and loss as a result of taking ACE Inhibitors while pregnant, you are not without recourse.  The first step you need to take is to contact an attorney.  There are experienced and highly qualified attorneys near you who have experience with these types of cases, and these attorneys will understand what it takes to protect your rights. 

However, you need to act quickly, as there are technical legal requirements in place that in effect place a time limit on how long you have to make a claim for damages against these companies.  If you wait too long, your case may be dismissed as a matter of law.  Therefore, there is no reason to wait - contact an attorney today and begin the process of making yourself whole. 

Heart Problems and Damage

ACE Inhibitors and Their Relation to Heart Problems and Damage

ACE Inhibitors are a class of drugs that help to reduce the narrowing of blood vessels in the body, as this narrowing can cause high blood pressure, hypertension and ultimately heart attacks and strokes.  Early on, these drugs were met with much acclaim, as they also put forth benefits to patients who were recovering from recent heart attacks by helping in the recovery of the heart itself. 

However, there are potentially dangerous side effects present with the use of ACE Inhibitors, and these side effects can also cause heart problems and damage to arise.  ACE Inhibitors, in a physiological sense, work to prevent a chemical transformation in the body that has the effect of narrowing blood vessels.  Narrow blood vessels increase blood pressure, and high blood pressure is dangerous because it can ultimately lead to heart attacks and strokes. 

One of the “benefits” of taking ACE Inhibitors is that the patient experiences lower blood pressure.  This is generally seen as a positive, but low blood pressure in and of itself can also lead to heart problems and damage.  If a patient’s blood pressure is too low for too long a period of time, symptoms from this condition progress from feeling weak, dizzy and lightheaded to the more severe consequences of low blood pressure, which include damage to vital organs and even a heart attack and death. 

Studies have shown that an overly-aggressive program of ACE Inhibitors and other hypertension and high blood pressure medication can lower blood pressure too drastically and lead to these previously specified heart problems and damage to other organs. 

If you have suffered from heart problems and damage in general as a result of taking ACE Inhibitors, the first thing you need to do after seeing a doctor and removing the medication from your daily routine is to consult an attorney. 

Contacting an attorney carries a degree of urgency, as there are time limits in regards to how long you have to bring a claim against a defendant for an injury you’ve suffered.  If you wait too long, your claim will be dismissed as a matter of law, and you will have no further recourse. 

Another reason for you to contact an attorney is because you would be ill-advised to “go it alone” against these enormous drug companies.  A seasoned attorney will be able to work for you and with the pharmaceutical company to make sure that your rights are enforced. 

Brain Damage

ACE Inhibitors and Potential Brain Damage in Infants 

Brief History of ACE Inhibitors 

ACE Inhibitors, a class of prescription drugs that were developed to help combat the effects of high blood pressure, entered the market with a high degree of promise.  Their physiological impact seemed to be generally positive, as ACE Inhibitors helped to prevent the chemical transformation in the body that caused a patient’s blood vessels to narrow. 

Narrow blood vessels create higher blood pressure, as less space requires more energy for blood to reach the heart and to be sent back to other vital organs in the body.  Prolonged high blood pressure can lead to serious medical consequences, including heart attacks and strokes. 

New Findings

Despite the promise shown by ACE Inhibitors, studies were done that revealed serious side effects that led to “black box” warnings being issued with these drugs to alert patients to their potential dangers.  These side effects ranged from less serious issues, such as a persistent cough, dizziness, the loss of the sense of taste and even facial and throat swelling. 

However, the most serious side effects were suffered by unborn children whose pregnant mothers were taking ACE Inhibitors.  These side effects involved significant malformation in the womb, including heart problems and permanent brain damage.  Given that these heart problems and brain damage occurred in such a sensitive stage of development, the effects were and are irreversible, leaving the child to a life time of suffering. 

Your Recourse

There are several things you can and should do to prevent heart and brain damage from occurring with your unborn child if you are taking ACE Inhibitors.  First, if you are pregnant or about to get pregnant, speak to your doctor and stop taking ACE Inhibitors so that you do not expose your child to these risks.

Secondly, if you have already taken them and had a child with these birth defects, consult an experienced attorney.  You have rights under the law, and an attorney will be able to explain these rights to you and to help you enforce them as opposed to you trying to battle these enormous pharmaceutical companies yourself. 

The most urgent aspect of consulting an attorney is time.  You only have a certain amount of it to bring a claim before your case will be dismissed as a matter of law.  If this happens, you are out of options, and will be left to suffer the consequences alone.  You and your child deserve better than that, so contact an attorney today.