Cardiac Warnings For Stimulant Medications
Following an FDA advisory panel's recommendation to place a warning regarding potential cardiovascular side effects on the label of stimulant medications used to treat ADHD, many parents have been concerned about safety of their children taking such medications.
Stimulant medications have been used for over 60 years to treat symptoms related to ADHD. Stimulants are one of the most extensively studied medications in children and adolescents, with over 200 well-controlled studies involving thousands of children and adolescents over the past 50 years.
An NIMH (National Institute of Mental Health) sponsored study, studied over 300 preschool children and over 300 school age children on methylphenidate (Ritalin) for 14 months, then followed them for an additional 4 years. The overall consensus from these studies has been that stimulants have been effective and relatively safe for over 60 years of use.
Currently, about 3,500,000 children and adolescents are being treated for AD/HD with stimulants as one part of their treatment plan. Over the past five years, there have been fewer than 20 sudden deaths reported on youth taking these medications, and it's unknown whether other factors, such as other medical conditions or other medications, played a role in these deaths. It's extremely difficult to study or predict such rare, unexpected adverse events when their incidence is so extremely small compared to the numbers of children and adolescents taking medications. Several large studies are underway to try to determine those small number of individuals who might be at risk.
As with many other medications, parents must weigh the significant risk of long-term impairment from untreated ADHD with the rare, unexpected, but potentially serious adverse events associated with stimulants. The evidence from over sixty years of clinical experience and hundreds of studies currently finds that these medications are safe for the majority of children and adolescents who take them. The use of stimulants in adults is much different, as they are often starting medications at an age when they might be developing high blood pressure and have other cardiovascular risk factors. I've addressed the use of stimulants and their associated risks in adults in a recent WebMD blog.
Note: In addition to information from research studies and clinical experience, much of the above information was adapted by recent statements from the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Dr. Laurence Greenhill, who have pledged to work closely with the FDA to determine the prevalence of ADHD medication adverse events.
Dr. Richard Sogn
Related Topics: Reducing the Side Effects of ADHD Medications, ADHD Behavioral Therapy
Technorati Tags: ADHD, stimulant medications, FDA warning
Stimulant medications have been used for over 60 years to treat symptoms related to ADHD. Stimulants are one of the most extensively studied medications in children and adolescents, with over 200 well-controlled studies involving thousands of children and adolescents over the past 50 years.
An NIMH (National Institute of Mental Health) sponsored study, studied over 300 preschool children and over 300 school age children on methylphenidate (Ritalin) for 14 months, then followed them for an additional 4 years. The overall consensus from these studies has been that stimulants have been effective and relatively safe for over 60 years of use.
Currently, about 3,500,000 children and adolescents are being treated for AD/HD with stimulants as one part of their treatment plan. Over the past five years, there have been fewer than 20 sudden deaths reported on youth taking these medications, and it's unknown whether other factors, such as other medical conditions or other medications, played a role in these deaths. It's extremely difficult to study or predict such rare, unexpected adverse events when their incidence is so extremely small compared to the numbers of children and adolescents taking medications. Several large studies are underway to try to determine those small number of individuals who might be at risk.
As with many other medications, parents must weigh the significant risk of long-term impairment from untreated ADHD with the rare, unexpected, but potentially serious adverse events associated with stimulants. The evidence from over sixty years of clinical experience and hundreds of studies currently finds that these medications are safe for the majority of children and adolescents who take them. The use of stimulants in adults is much different, as they are often starting medications at an age when they might be developing high blood pressure and have other cardiovascular risk factors. I've addressed the use of stimulants and their associated risks in adults in a recent WebMD blog.
Note: In addition to information from research studies and clinical experience, much of the above information was adapted by recent statements from the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Dr. Laurence Greenhill, who have pledged to work closely with the FDA to determine the prevalence of ADHD medication adverse events.
Dr. Richard Sogn
Related Topics: Reducing the Side Effects of ADHD Medications, ADHD Behavioral Therapy
Technorati Tags: ADHD, stimulant medications, FDA warning
3 Comments:
Dr. Richard Sogn
You should be ashamed of yourself. The easiest is to medicate children. It is their faults for everything, not the teacher who don’t have clue how to teach children in schools. Teachers are to blame and school system. Teachers are pushing normal and intelligent kids to be drugged. You are lying when you say that those medications are safe for children. None medication is good for anyone. Look how many lawsuits are there because year later they discover that any medications have side effect. You doctors are not looking in alternatives for medication. It is easies just to prescribe drug. Shame on you to be a doctor.
I disagree with the above comment. I am a teacher and a parent of a child with ADHD. Teachers are not doctors. My sons teacher never suggested, let alone pushed a medication on us. Our doctor monitors our son very closely.
I agree with the first person.99.9% of doctors are out there to get rich!Think about it.You want a good paying job to feed your family & make it in this world.WRIGHT?So are the doctors,no matter what!As for the teacher.Of course your son's teacher didn't push for your son to be on med's.YOU DID!! Your a teacher that know's you want all kid's to be on drug's.So why no your son too!I have a 9yr.old son,who they say's he has adhd.He is in the 3rd grade.His past two teachers has wanted him on drug's,because their son's or daughter's was on med's too!Well i love my son & he is my life & i tried him on three different med's & he was so angry & emotional.My son was never like that before.Those med's only mess you up for the worst.I think it has to do with the chemicals in our foods & air ect..I might not be the smartest person i the world,but i am no dumb butt either!!!!
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