A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) shows that Ritalin, Adderall and other drugs widely used to treat attention disorders didn't increase the risk of serious heart problems. The findings, from an analysis involving nearly 500,000 adults, come on the heels of a separate study that reached a similar conclusion about the medications' effect in 1.2 million children and young adults.
According to an article in the Wall Street Journal, “Researchers and doctors who treat the condition -- known formally as attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD—said that together the reports should generally allay worries about heart risk that have stirred confusion among doctors and patients for several years.”
Fears about potential heart risk for ADHD medicines were sparked in 2005 by reports of about a dozen deaths from sudden cardiac arrest among young users of Adderall. The reports prompted the Canadian government to temporarily remove Adderall from the market, though it later lifted the suspension after it was determined that the patients who had died had heart defects or other underlying heart disease.
The FDA held advisory panels to discuss the matter in 2006 and subsequently required an update to product labeling to mention cardiac risk. The American Heart Association in 2008 urged that children being considered for ADHD drugs undergo a thorough heart exam, possibly including an electrocardiogram, before taking the medicines.
The FDA and other U.S. agencies funded both the JAMA study and an earlier one published last month by the New England Journal of Medicine. The earlier study, by the same research team, reached a similar conclusion among patients 2 to 24 years old.
The study in JAMA compared about 150,000 adult users of ADHD medications between 25 and 64 years old to nearly 300,000 nonusers. Researchers reviewed medical records from four health insurance plans to look at the number of serious cardiovascular events such as sudden cardiac death, heart attack and stroke among both groups.
Despite the findings, the FDA said Monday that patients treated with ADHD medications should continue to be monitored for changes in heart rate or blood pressure as well as for other side effects that include decreased appetite, weight loss and trouble sleeping. The agency also said the drugs "should not be used by patients with serious heart problems, or for whom an increase in blood pressure or heart rate would be problematic."
Ever metaanalysis you didn't like?
Center for Medicine in the Public Interest is a nonprofit, non-partisan organization promoting innovative solutions that advance medical progress, reduce health disparities, extend life and make health care more affordable, preventive and patient-centered. CMPI also provides the public, policymakers and the media a reliable source of independent scientific analysis on issues ranging from personalized medicine, food and drug safety, health care reform and comparative effectiveness.
