Transposition of the Great Arteries is a congenital (present at birth) heart defect found to be associated with maternal use of Prozac® during pregnancy by medical researcher Diav-Citrin in a 2008 study titled “Paroxetine and fluoxetine in pregnancy: a prospective, multicentre, controlled, observational study,” published in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology.

Concerning persons suffering from Transposition of the Great Arteries, the website KidsHealth states that in Transposition of the Great Arteries, “the pulmonary artery and the aorta (the major blood vessels leaving the heart) are switched so that the aorta arises from the right side of the heart and receives blue blood, which is sent right back out to the body without becoming oxygen-rich. The pulmonary artery arises from the left side of the heart, receives red blood and sends it back to the lungs again. As a result, babies with this condition often appear very blue and have low oxygen levels in the bloodstream.”[1]

PubMed Health, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine, states that symptoms of Transposition of the Great arteries may also include “clubbing of the fingers or toes,”[2] “poor feeding,”[3] and “shortness of breath.”[4]

Treatment of Transposition of the Great Arteries

Because of the severity of this condition, it is usually discovered shortly after birth, requiring heart surgery for correction of the birth defect.  The surgery performed is called “an arterial switch procedure … used to permanently correct the problem within the baby’s first week of life.  This surgery switches the great arteries back to the normal position and keeps the coronary arteries attached to the aorta.”[5]

Though the child’s condition will improve greatly following surgery, complications of Transposition of the Great Arteries can range from “coronary artery problems,”[6] to “heart valve problems,”[7] to arrhythmia,[8] which together could limit the child’s ability to lead a normal, active life.

Though there is no guaranteed way to prevent your child from being born with Transposition of the Great Arteries, anything you can do to that end is beneficial.  When pregnant, it is important that one avoids alcohol, eats well, and controls diabetes,[9] for these “may be helpful,”[10] in the prevention of Transposition of the Great Arteries.

Avoiding Transposition of the Great Arteries

Furthermore, it is important that expecting mother avoid SSRI use during pregnancy, for many different SSRI drugs have been linked to greatly increased risk of heart defects.  Specifically, Prozac® (fluoxetine) has been linked to increased risk of Transposition of the Great Arteries.

Due to the fact that maternal Prozac® use during pregnancy has been found to place newborns at a dramatically-increased risk of heart defects, many families are filing Prozac® lawsuits to gain compensation for the injuries members of their family have suffered.  If you or a loved one used Prozac® during pregnancy, and your child was born with Transposition of the Great Arteries, please do not hesitate to contact our Prozac® lawyers for a free consultation.  You may reach us toll-free by phone at (855) 452-5529 or by e-mail at justinian@dangerousdrugs.us.  Our firm has everything required to secure the justice your family deserves.