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According to an Effexor lawsuit filed by an Arkansas mother, pregnant women using the antidepressant face the risk of having babies with holes in their hearts. Her claim is not just one of its type, as successive researchers have also underlined the risk of various types of heart deformities associated with Effexor, Pfizer’s blockbuster SNRI antidepressant. The FDA has received over 1,000 Effexor baby complaints (2013 figures), including more than 208 citing heart-related deformities in children.
Effexor Birth Defect Lawsuit Arkansas
The plaintiff ingested Effexor during the first three months of her pregnancy. She was unaware of any potential birth defect in her baby to be caused by the antidepressant in the absence of any such warning by the drug manufacturer. However, taking 150gm of daily dose created havoc in her life. Her daughter was born with “a hole in her heart,” commonly known as atrial septal defect, that might lead to life-long cardiovascular complications. The child has been under regular medical supervision ever since her birth.
The congenital heart defect is detected when deformities allow a gap in the interatrial septum, the wall-like membrane separating the upper chambers. This causes blood to flow between atrial chambers and mixing of oxygen-rich blood with blood not rich with oxygen, as the later does not follow the proper circulatory procedure and sneaks in through the septal hole.
The gap results in impaired cardiovascular functions, poor blood circulation, and depleted blood oxygen level. Brain and other vital organs may feel the pinch of oxygen deficiency. The Arkansas Effexor birth defect lawsuit seeks past, present, and future medical costs, compensation for suffering, and punitive damages.
Another woman gave birth to a “zombie-like child without heart beat” after taking the antidepressant for months prior to her delivery. The child was almost died before doctors resurrected and put him under neonatal intensive care. After nine years, even today the child suffers from complications linked to hypoplastic heart, immunity problems, and neurological disorders, says Effexor birth defect attorney representing the Arkansas mother.
Effexor Birth Defect Research on Heart Problems in Newborn
Effexor was approved by FDA in 1993. It contains Venlafaxine, a SNRI-class antidepressant. It inhibits serotonin and norepinephrine, two neurotransmitters that control human mood. Doctors widely prescribe the drug to those having obsessive-compulsive disorder, anxiety, depression, and fibromyalgia syndrome. The drug has become one of the most-prescribed antidepressants in the last two decades.
Effexor Birth Defect Research Studies
Multiple research reports detailing the association between antidepressant and congenital heart problems have been a great source of education and legal help for parents of children with Effexor birth defects and any Arkansas lawyer representing them. In 2009, findings reported in the British Medical Journal warned of double risk of cardiovascular deformities due to prenatal venlafaxine exposure.
International researchers have also cautioned against Effexor ingestion by expectant women, as it increases the threat of newborn birth defects by 40% and causes heart deformities with a chance of 60 percent. Septal defect is the most commonly occurring antidepressant heart defect in newborns. A group of Danish researchers has advised pregnant women to discontinue the drug prior to their conception.
Effexor Birth Heart Defects
- Hole in the heart caused by septal defects
- Hypoplastic heart syndrome
- Ventral defect that also cause hole and impact heart functions
- Pulmonary stenosis
- Persistent pulmonary hypertension
- Aorta deformities
- Circulatory distress
- Neonatal cardiac complications
- Blue baby syndrome
- Defective heart valves
These Effexor-linked heart defects lead to blood circulation distress, low blood-oxygen level, heart disorders, blood pressure, life-long complications, and frequent hospitalization. Most of these problems require one or more open-heart surgeries and other surgical interventions. There were reports about how a six-month-old baby had open heart procedures and another undergoing similar surgery twice within five years.
To know about the process for filing and pursuing Effexor birth defect lawsuit, please call on 1-800-632-1404 or contact our team of Effexor Birth Defect Attorneys in Arkansas.
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