New Study Identifies SSRI Blood Pressure Risk

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The use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressants during pregnancy has been linked in a recent study to high blood pressure in certain users. The research indicates that SSRIs may increase the risk of hypertension beyond that what could be attributed to the depression and anxiety that likely drove the women to take the drugs in the first place. In addition to being linked to high blood pressure in users, SSRI antidepressants have been increasingly associated with a large number of severe heart, lung, and cranial birth defects.

Free SSRI Antidepressant Birth Defect Lawsuit Evaluation: If you or a loved one has a child who was diagnosed with a serious birth defect after being exposed to an SSRI antidepressant medication in the womb, you should contact our law firm immediately. You may be entitled to compensation by filing a suit against the manufacturer of the antidepressant and we can help.

What’s the problem?

March 23, 2012 – The new study, which was published this week in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, analyzed the Quebec Pregnancy Registry and identified over 1,200 women who were diagnosed with pregnancy-induced hypertension who did not have the condition prior to becoming pregnant.

Researchers found that expecting mothers who took any form of antidepressant during pregnancy were at a 50% increased risk of hypertension, and whose who took SSRIs specifically were at a 60% increased risk of the condition. Women who took Paxil (generic: paroxetine) during pregnancy had more than an 80% increased risk of developing hypertension.

In addition to Paxil, other potentially-dangerous medications from the SSRI class include:

• Zoloft (Sertraline)
• Celexa (Citalopram)
• Prozac (Fluoxetine)
• Lexapro (Escitalopram)
• Symbyax (fluoxetine and olanzapine)
• Wellbutrin (Bupropion)
• Effexor (Venlafaxine)

The Canadian study compared women taking antidepressants to women who did not, while attempting to adjust for other variables that could raise blood pressure, such as anxiety and depression.

SSRI Birth Defects

A number of earlier studies have focused on the side effects of SSRIs on users during pregnancy, but the bulk of the medical literature to date has concentrated on the risk of birth defects in babies exposed to the drugs in the womb. Congenital abnormalities linked to SSRI antidepressants include:

• Atrial Septal Defects (ASD)
• Ventricular Septal Defects (VSD)
• Persistent Pulmonary Hypertension of the Newborn (PPHN)
• Tricuspid Valve (Ebstein’s Anomaly)
• Mitral Valve Prolapse
• Transposition of the Great Arteries (TGA)
• Transposition of the Great Vessels (TGV)
• Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF)
• Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS)
• Hypoplastic Right Heart Syndrome (HRHS)
• Tricuspid Atresia
• Aortic Stenosis
• Pulmonary Atresia (PA)
• Patent Ductus Arteriosus (PDA)
• Coarctation of the Aorta
• Truncus Arteriosus
• Tricuspid Valve Stenosis
• Heart Murmur
• Pulmonary Stenosis
• Gastroschisis – abdominal wall defect
• Esophageal Stenosis
• Clubfoot
• Anal Atresia
• Spina Bifida

Do You Have an SSRI Antidepressant Birth Defects Lawsuit?

The Product Liability & Defective Drug Litigation Group at our law firm is an experienced team of trial lawyers that focus on the representation of plaintiffs in SSRI antidepressant lawsuits. We are handling individual litigation nationwide and currently accepting new birth defect cases in all 50 states.

Free SSRI Antidepressant Birth Defect Lawsuit Evaluation: If you or a loved one has a child who was diagnosed with any of the birth defects listed in this article after being exposed to an SSRI antidepressant in the womb, you should contact our law firm immediately. You may be entitled to compensation by filing an SSRI antidepressant birth defect suit and we can help.