Taking blood pressure medicine should be a way to protect your health, not endanger it. Certain prescription medications can help people trying to lower their blood pressure, especially when combined with healthier diet choices and regular exercise.
While these drugs can offer substantial medical benefits, they can also put people at risk. Consumers trust that their medications will be pure and safe. Mistakes or cost-cutting at drug production facilities can result in improper formulation, inaccurate dosage or even chemical contamination of medications.
A recent recall is the result of serious chemical contamination.
Could your medication contain a known carcinogen?
There have been numerous medication recalls in recent years because of quality control testing showing unsafe levels of certain chemicals, and Pfizer has announced another three. The three recalled blood pressure medications could have dangerous levels of nitrosamines, a human carcinogen.
While the company maintains the contamination does not impact patients taking the medications, they still need to return their medication if it is one of the recalled products. The Pfizer drug Accuretic is part of the recall, as are two generic formulations of the medication released by the company Greenstone. The generic medications involved are quinapril and hydrochlorothiazide tablets and quinapril HCl/hydrochlorothiazide tablets.
Of course, exposure to unsafe levels of a carcinogen would not have an immediate health impact but would rather result in someone developing cancer years later. Those who suspect a correlation between their medication and a serious medical condition sometimes have grounds to hold the manufacturer of that medication responsible. Identifying potentially defective drugs can help you hold irresponsible companies accountable.