Children Taking Stimulants Need Heart Screening, Group Says

Just a thought...

what about those already taking medication? Should they be periodically screened? What about adults who take the medication and have for years. The risk of heart disease increases as they get older. Should they have periodic screenings while taking the medication?

comment 1

I AGREE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

comment 1

I AGREE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

comment 1

I AGREE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My comment to MJ

Wow MJ from CA are you a doctor, you seem to think you know it all. I am an adult with ADHD that went undiagnosed.

I failed miserably in school, was told it was because I was lazy and just needed to focus.

My parents were there for me and gave me all the love and support I ever needed. Thankfully I was a gifted musician, which was the ONLY highlight of my miserable school experience. It took me 15 years after HS before I attempted to go to college.

My success with my college course work is due to those very medications that you say are being shoved down children's throats.

Come out of the dark ages and get with the program, ADD & ADHD are not made up disorders they exist, trust me.

small vessel disease

I applaud the recommendation to test these children for undiagnosed heart disease before prescribing medication known to raise their blood pressure.

We should not overlook, however, another heart-related risk. Stimulant drugs cause small lesions on the heart muscle and a condition known as small-vessel disease. This is recognized to occur in addicts who use larger amounts of amphetamine.

Unfortunately, an electrocardiogram is not going to reveal this damage which apparently can only be diagnosed at autopsy. In a study on rats and mice, various doses of methylphenidate (Ritalin) were given, and then they were killed and their hearts examined. They had small lesions on the heart muscle at every dose tried, and even at the shortest treatment time tested (Henderson 1995). You can see more studies on the connection between stimulants and the heart at http://www.feingold.org/Research/heart.html

So while obviously there are cases of ADHD severe enough to warrant using drugs with such a risk, it may pay to look for other alternatives to try first.

It's all a sham

First, Add, Adhd, tdd, etc. come on teenage defiant disorder- are all made up conditions to make the drug companies money. Oh my god! my child is hyper and can't sit still, better shove some pills down his throat! How about this, we live in a disfunctional, stressful world that worships all the newest, violent technology. Kids are addicted to the internet, blackberries, ipods, gameboys etc etc etc. What do you idiots expect!!??!! Parents are never home, don't show the kids the love and attention they deserve. And the parents who are home can be drug addicts, alcholics or just plain idiots themselves. These poor kids on these drugs are victims of a greedy evil system called the FDA, who is in bed with Merke etc. And the doctors make a killing (literally) too!!