Congenital: Present at birth. A condition that is congenital is one that is present at birth. There are numerous uses of "congenital" in medicine. There are, for example, congenital abnormalities. (For more examples, see below.)
Claritin and High Blood Pressure. This eMedTV page discusses the issues surrounding Claritin and high blood pressure. It explains why the drug is likely safe for people with this condition, explains why Claritin-D is not, and advises checking with your healthcare provider to be sure.
Claritin, however, has been linked to several disorders, including but not limited to, respiratory illness and irregular heartbeat. In April 2002, the European Medicines Evaluation Agency (EMEA) announced it was conducting a safety review of the drug after receiving an alarming number of reports from Sweden of birth defects in children born to mothers who used Claritin while pregnant. An investigation is still ongoing. Officials with Schering-Plough say the cases simply "constitute random events".
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