Blood Pressure Drugs Linked to Birth Defects

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Thanks to Philadelphia personal injury lawyer Jamie Sheller for bringing to my attention a Public Health Advisory from the FDA. Last week, the agency announced a study in the New England Journal of Medicine has linked ACE inhibitors to an increased risk of birth defects when used in a woman's first trimester of pregnancy. ACE inhibitors are often prescribed to lower blood pressure - by blocking an enzyme which causes blood vessels to narrow and constrict - in patients suffering hypertension.