Zoloft Linked to Septal Heart and Enlarged Heart Birth Defects

Like other Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs), Zoloft (sertraline) causes several different kinds of birth defects. Many of them are heart-related. In another article, we discussed Persistent Pulmonary Hypertension. Zoloft use has been linked to two other types of congenital heart/cardiovascular birth defects: septal heart defects and enlarged heart.

Septal heart defects are the most common heart defects caused by all antidepressants, but Zoloft septal heart defects are unusually common. The septum is the wall of tissue that divides the left heart (the portion that pumps blood through the aorta to the rest of the body) from the right heart (the portion that pumps blood to the lungs for oxygenation). In people with septal heart defects, the septum fails to form properly, allowing blood to move between the left and right chambers of the heart. This reduces heart efficiency and causes the heart to pump some blood that is not oxygenated into the body and to pump already oxygenated blood to the lungs. If the septum is badly perforated, heart surgery is necessary to correct the defect.

One study conducted by Dr. Lars Henning Pedersen and others demonstrates a connection between Zoloft use and septal heart defects. Published in the September 23, 2009 issue of the British Medical Journal, it’s titled, “Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors in pregnancy and congenital malformations: population based cohort study.” The researchers used data from four Danish medical registries that track births and drug prescriptions over the course of several years. Linking together women who used SSRIs, including Zoloft, during their first trimesters with a database of 1,370 children born with SSRI birth defects, Dr. Pedersen and his colleagues discovered a connection between SSRIs and septal heart defects. Taking at least one SSRI during the first trimester doubles the likelihood of giving birth to a child with a septal heart defect, the study found. Moreover, Zoloft users were 3.25 times more likely than normal to give birth to children with septal heart defects, making the drug more dangerous than other SSRIs. Enlarged heart has also been linked to mothers’ SSRI use, though Dr. Pedersen and his colleagues did not study it specifically.

If you took Zoloft during the first trimester of your pregnancy and gave birth to a child with a septal birth defect or an enlarged heart, you may be eligible for compensation. The Rottenstein Law Group is currently offering free, confidential legal consultations to parents like you. Click on this link or submit our contact form to the right and one of our Zoloft lawyers will contact you as soon as possible.