ADHD drugs are safe for adults' hearts, despite raising blood pressure and heart rate, according to the largest study of these medications in adults.
The research team, led by Laurel Habel of the research division at Kaiser Permanente Northern California in Oakland, analyzed the health records of more than 440,000 adults aged 25 to 64.
They found that those taking ADHD drugs had about the same number of heart attacks, strokes and sudden heart-related deaths as adults who didn't use those drugs, Reuters reports.
More than 150,000 ADHD medication users were involved in several states. Their health records over up to 20 years were compared with similar adults who did not use those drugs.
All in all, there were 1,357 heart attacks, 575 strokes and 296 sudden cardiac deaths. Roughly equal numbers occurred in ADHD drug users and nonusers.
In 2005, more than 1.5 million U.S. adults were taking stimulants used for ADHD, and use of the drugs increased more rapidly in adults than in kids over the past decade, the study noted.
Editors of the Journal of the American Medical Association said the study will be published in the journal’s Dec. 28 print edition, but was released online Monday because of its public health importance, reports Reuters.
