Heart Association calls for child cardiac testing

From the Wall Street Journal, Philadelphia Inquirer and elsewhere:

Millions of children taking drugs for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder should be checked for heart problems, the American Heart Association said yesterday, a recommendation that also might identify more youngsters with cardiac disorders.

Ritalin, Adderall, Concerta, and other stimulants commonly prescribed to treat ADHD can increase blood pressure and heart rate. While not a problem for the vast majority of patients, they can lead to life-threatening conditions and even sudden cardiac death in those with heart conditions.

… The advice marks the first time a medical-guidelines body in the U.S. has urged wide use of an electrocardiogram, which charts electrical activity in the heart, to screen a presumed healthy population for abnormalities.

But there is debate among experts about the value of using the test to screen such a large pool of patients to detect a rare condition. The hope is that such a test — in combination with a comprehensive checkup — will help to avoid the rare cases of sudden cardiac arrest that have been linked to the widely used medicines.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 22nd, 2008 at 4:59 am and is filed under ADHD, drugs, medicine. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.  Email This Post