Pregnant women warned about ACE inhibitor
Some of the。most commonly used medicines for high blood pressure are drugs called ACE inhibitors．Doctors have given these drugs to patients for twenty—five years．A government study in the United States found that the use almost doubled between l995 and 2000．
Doctors have known for years that women should not take ACE inhibitors during the last six nlonths of pregnancy．
The medicine can．injure the baby．ACE inhibitors，though，have been considered safe when taken during the first three months．But a new fstudy has found that women who take these drugs early in their pregnancy still increase the risk of birth disorders．The study shows that，compared to others，their babies were almost three times as likely to be born with
major problems．These included problems with the formation of the brain and nervous system and holes in the heart．
The researchers say they found no increased risk in women who took other blood pressure medicines during the first three months。Researchers at Vanderbih University in Tennessee and Boston University did the study．The New England Journal of Medicine4 published the results．The researchers studied the records of almost thirty thousand births between l985 and 2000．Two hundred nine babies were born to women who took ACE inhibitors during the first，three months of their pregnancies。Eighteen of the babies，or almost nine percent，had major disorders．
ACE inhibitors are often given to patients with diabe*es．But diabetes during pregnancy Call result in birth defects．
So the study did not include any women known to be diabetic．ACE inhibitors suppress a protein called angiotensin—converting enzyme，or ACE．This enzyme produces a chemical in the body that makes blood passages narrow。The drugs increase the flow of blood．so pressure is reduced．
New drugs are tested on pregnant animals to see if they might cause birth defects in humans．But experts say these tests are not always dependable．The United States Food and Drug Administration helped pay for the study．The F.D．
A．says women who might become pregnant should talk with their doctor about other ways to treat high blood pressure．
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A．Effects of ACE and ACE inhibitors
B．Wide use of ACE inhibitors
C．How to deal with high blood pressure in pregnant women
D．Damage to pregnant women’s future babies
E．Suggestions on stopping the use of ACE inhibitors
F．Relative safety for women during the first three months of pregnancies
5．FDA suggests that pregnant women with high blood pressure should consult____．
6．ACE inhibitors are not recommended____．
7．Evidence showed only a small percentage of babies suffered major disorders____．
8．ACE is a risk factor to our body____．
A．that may cause our blood vessels jto become more and more narrow
B．for pregnant women to take during their last six months of pregnancies
C．thal：their likelihood to suffer major problems is two times higher than other babies
D．with their doctors about how to treat their problems
E．because diabetes during pregnancy may sometimes lead to birth defects
F．though their mothers took ACE inhibitors during their first three months of．pregnancies