Journal Study Reports ACE Inhibitors Could Cause Birth Defects

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The New England Journal of Medicine has published a study, which found that infants whose mothers took an angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor drug during the first trimester of pregnancy had an increased risk of birth defects.

According to the study, "Major Congenital Malformations after First-Trimester Exposure to ACE Inhibitors," (Vol. 354:2443-2451, No. 23, June 8, 2006), "exposure to ACE inhibitors during the first trimester cannot be considered safe and should be avoided."

The authors studied 29,507 infants enrolled in Tennessee Medicaid who were born between 1985 and 2000 without evidence of maternal diabetes. They identified 209 infants …