ADHD Drugs Not Linked to Increased Heart Risk in Adults Dec. 12, 2011 -- A study of 150,000 adults taking drugs for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) found no conclusive evidence that the medications increase the risk for heart attack, stroke, or sudden death from heart-related causes.

The research, published online Monday in the Journal of the American Medical Association, comes just over a month after the same investigators found that the drugs likely do not raise the risk for serious heart problems in children and young adults, based on their study of more than 1.2 million young users.

Millions of children and adults in the U.S. take stimulants such as Adderall, Concerta, Metadate, Methylin, Ritalin, or the non-stimulant Strattera to treat ADHD symptoms such as hyperactivity, impulse control, and trouble focusing.

The new findings should reassure adult patients who take ADHD drugs, but they do not rule out a modest increase in risk associated with their use, says researcher Laurel A. Habel, PhD, a research scientist with the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research in Oakland, Calif.

“With any drug there are potential risks, and these drugs can increase blood pressure,” she tells WebMD. “But if there is an increase in [heart-related] events, our study suggests that it is slight.”

ADHD in Adults