Contrary to popular belief, adults with ADHD are not at an increased risk for heart attacks, strokes or sudden death by treating their condition with drugs. According to Reuters, researchers at the Kaiser Permanente of Northern California lifted the stigma with research showing that prescriptions for drugs like Ritalin and Adderall did not increase a patient’s likelihood for a cardiac occurence.
“We didn’t see any evidence that these medications increased the risk of any of these events,” said lead researcher Laurel Habel.
Habel and her colleagues studied the medical records of 440,000 adults from ages 25 to 64 diagnosed with ADHD. Of that group, 150,000 had prescriptions for medications to treat the condition. But there was no sign that heart trouble was higher in the percentage taking medication. In fact, rates of heart problems were about the same between the two groups.
Habel hopes her research will counteract the popular opinion that ADHD medications increase the risk of cardiac problems because they have been shown to increase blood pressure and heart rate.
“We think our results suggest these drugs do not markedly elevate the risk of cardiovascular events,” she told Reuters.
