April 21 2008 - A medical group is urging that kids are given heart tests before receiving any form of medication aimed at controling their attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.
The group has stated that there is no direct evidence to prove that these drugs can increase a child's risk of heart problems but that it is better to be cautious. They did however state that ADHD appears to be more common in children with heart conditions.
The recommendations come from the American Heart Association and are for children who need ritalin or some other form of stimulant drug to undergo a electrocardiogram, which is a test that detects and records the heart's electrical activity level.
"There's been concern that these drugs might be associated in a very small number of individuals' sudden cardiac arrest or sudden cardiac death," said Dr. Victoria Vetter of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in Philadelphia.
"There's no registry in the country to determine how many young people are dying from sudden cardiac arrest and what they might have causing that -- and similarly how many of those who die might be on these medications. So there's no causal information," Vetter added.
Stimulant drugs such as ritalin have been shown to raise blood pressure, a fact that can be dangerous for children with heart conditions.
It is estimated that in the U.S. more than 2.5 million children take medication for ADHD.
