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Atrial Septal Defects a Basis for Zoloft Lawsuit

Atrial Septal Defect (ASD) is a medical condition involving the heart which is present at birth. This is marked by a hole found in the wall of the two upper chambers of the heart or atria. Most small ASDs can heal without medical intervention but the larger holes can cause serious effects if not repaired such as damage to the heart and lungs. Some women who took Zoloft at the time of pregnancy gave birth to children with atrial septal defect. Zoloft is an antidepressant medication under the SSRI drug classification and is usually given to people with depression. Depression is primarily managed with medications but certain side effects may hinder the sufferer to go on with the drug therapy. A genetic test to manage depression treatment is being offered by Mayo Clinic which may help physicians pick out those who might develop side effects to a specific antidepressant, but doubts were raised regarding this test since the genetic results can be used against the patient.

Facts on Atrial Septal Defect

As previously mentioned, this is a congenital anomaly which means that it can be found at birth. Symptoms might start to show when they reach the age of 30 and above. The unrepaired septal defect may cause the individual to exhibit the following symptoms:

• Abnormal heart sounds
• Shortness of breath especially upon physical exertion
• Easily gets fatigued
• Bluish skin tint that is easily observed on nail beds and the lips
• Observable swelling of the lower extremities and the abdomen
• Frequent lung infections
• Stroke

These symptoms should be taken seriously as they may progress to heart failure or other atrial septal complications such as pulmonary hypertension, shortened life expectancy, abnormalities in heart rhythms and increased risk of having a stroke.

Atrial Septal Defect and its Connection with Zoloft

The British Medical Journal published a study in the year 2007 indicating that women who took Zoloft when pregnant were twice as likely to deliver babies with septal birth defect. It was also found out that the incidence of septal defects rose from 0.5 percent to 0.9 percent in women who took antidepressants including Zoloft when they were pregnant. This condition is rather serious and this made some individuals decide to file for Zoloft lawsuits to be rightfully compensated for all their sufferings.
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