New Study Finds Increased Risk of Birth Defects Related to First Trimester Use of Ace Inhibitors

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WASHINGTON, June 7 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Infants born to mothers who took angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors during the first trimester of pregnancy had an increased risk of major congenital malformations compared with infants whose mothers didn't take these drugs, according to a new study jointly funded by HHS' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This study, which is published in the June 8 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, is the first to find an adverse impact of ACE inhibitors on a fetus when taken only during the first trimester of pregnancy.

ACE inhibitors, a class of medications primarily used to lower blood pressure and/or to preserve kidney function in people with diabetes, already carry an FDA "black box" warning stating that they can cause injury and even death to the developing fetus when used during the second and third trimesters of pregnancy. The warning states that use of ACE inhibitors should be discontinued as soon as possible when pregnancy is detected. According to data from the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, in 1995 there were 1,426,220 prescriptions for ACE inhibitors written in physicians' offices for women ages 15 to 44. That number increased to 2,712,510 in 2002 for the same age group.

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New Study Finds Increased Risk of Birth Defects Related to First Trimester Use of Ace Inhibitors

"These study findings raise a new and potentially important safety concern for a woman who is taking ACE inhibitors before she or her doctor knows that she is pregnant," sa...

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