ACE Inhibitors

Ace Inhibitors Overview

The New England Journal of Medicine reported in June 2006 that women who used ACE inhibitors in the first trimester of their pregnancy had 2.7 times greater risk that their baby would be born with a serious birth defect.

What Are ACE Inhibitors? ACE (Angiogenesis Converting Enzyme) inhibitors are medications that reduce high blood pressure. Some of the most common are:

• Altace
• Benazepril
• Captopril
• Cilazapril
• Enalapril
• Enalaprilal
• Fosinopril
• Lisinopril
• Lotrel
• Moexipril
• Perindopril
• Quinapril
• Ramipril
• Trandolapril

ACE Inhibitors work by relaxing the walls of blood vessels. The vessels are able to expand, which reduces blood pressure and increases the supply of blood and oxygen to the heart.

They are the most widely prescribed blood pressure medications in the U.S; last year 150 million prescriptions for ACE inhibitors were filled. In June of 2006, The Associated Press (“AP”) reported that ACE inhibitor sales reached $3.8 billion dollars in the United States in 2005 with approximately 150 million prescriptions filled. In 2002, the latest data available, 2.7 million prescriptions were written for women of child-bearing age.

Over 50% of the babies in the study who were born with birth defects had heart malformations. Other problems included bone abnormalities of the skull and face, brain damage, spina bifida, intestinal defects, and kidney damage.

More information about the potential for serious birth defects from use of ACE Inhibitors in the first trimester of pregnancy is found on our Frequently Asked Questions page