Scientists at the University of Colorado found that taking ADHD medications like Adderall or Ritalin can lead to arrhythmias, heart failure, and cardiac arrest. results published In the journal Science Advances (SciAdv).
ADHD is a developmental neurobehavioral disorder in which hyperactivity is evident along with lack of attention and concentration. To improve performance in this pathology, drug therapy with drugs such as Adderall or Ritalin has recently been used.
To find out what effects this class of drugs might have on health, scientists analyzed data from nearly 26,000 people with ADHD and healthy volunteers ages 20 to 40. After obtaining the necessary information about the participants and completing the examinations, the observation phase of the subjects began, which lasted approximately 10 years.
At the end of follow-up, researchers found that people with ADHD were 17% more likely to develop cardiomyopathy after using the drugs for a year than healthy controls. Cardiomyopathy is a myocardial disease of unknown etiology whose main symptoms are cardiomegaly (increase in heart size) and/or heart failure. It was also found that long-term use of the drugs (more than eight years) was associated with a 57% increase in the risk of the same.
Cardiomyopathy can cause abnormal heart rhythms, which can lead to arrhythmia (irregular heartbeat), the study authors noted. Long-term consequences of arrhythmia include life-threatening stroke, heart failure, or cardiac arrest.
Previously found Risk factor for premature vascular aging.
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Source: Gazeta
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