Lawsuit Information Center
I have been talking a lot of here about birth defects from pharmaceutical drugs – pregnant woman on a drug that causes a birth defect to their child: Zoloft, Depakote and Topamax are the latest being targeted by birth injury product defect lawyers in recent months. Listing is also now becoming a concern.
- 2019 Update: Since this post was written 8 years ago, losartan, irbesartan, and valsartan have all received attention for concerns about whether the manufacturing process has gone awry in China and the result is patients getting cancer from valsartan use.
Losartan and Pregnancy
It is amazing and depressing how many drugs cause birth defects. One is Losartan Potassium and other angiotensin II antagonist medications, drugs that carry the risk of birth defects and fetal death if the drugs are used by women who are pregnant. One “upside” of dealing with the risk of Losartan Potassium is that you can at least get a warning: risk appears higher in the second or third trimesters of pregnancy.
Stating the obvious, Losartan potassium treatment should be stopped immediately if you think you are pregnant and, just as immediately, contact your doctor and let them know your intentions and how the doctor thinks you should proceed. Generally, this drug should not be used while pregnant. There are exceptions if alternatives and the benefit outweighs the risk to the child. But these exceptions are rare.
What Is Losartan?
Losartan is an oral medication. It is a drug that is called an angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB). Losartan is a treatment for high blood pressure. Losartan relaxes muscle cells and dilates blood vessels, reducing blood pressure. It is also used to treat cerebrovascular accidents, ventricular hypertrophy, and diabetic nephropathy.
Recent Losartan Recall
Adding to the problems with this blood pressure medication, a losartan lot was recalled last month after it was found to be contaminated with N-nitrosodiethylamine (NDEA). NDEA is an organic chemical that is classified as a probable human carcinogen. It is used to make liquid rocket fuel and the Roundup pesticide.
Losartan Lawsuits
There are now attorneys who are pushing forward with Losartan lawsuits. Our law firm is not currently handling these cases. If that changes, we will update this post.
Medical Literature
This is some supporting medical literature if you have more interest in this topic:
- Sanchez, S., et. al (2008).Inhibition of angiotensin II receptors during pregnancy induces malformations in rat kidney. Eur. J. P. 588(1): p114-123
- Satoh, M. Haga, et. al (2016). The velocity of antihypertensive effects of seven angiotensin II receptor blockers determined by home blood pressure measurements J.Hyperten. 6(34):1218–1223.