Do ADHD drugs have heart risks?

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Forbes magazine and the Associated Press report that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality announced today that it will take a closer look at data from children who have been using ADHD drugs to determine whether these medications can cause heart problems.

Apparently there have been a number of reports of deaths, heart attacks and strokes among children and adults using widely prescribed ADHD drugs such as Shire's Adderrall, Eli Lilly's Strattera, and Johnson & Johnson's Concerta.

The FDA wants drug makers to get to the bottom of these reports and find out whether or not their medications are increasing the risk of stroke, heart attack and other adverse reactions to the drugs. The FDA will begin studying data showing about 1/2 million children and adults who have taken these ADHD drugs for seven years or more.

For more information on this subject matter, please refer to the section on Drugs, Medical Devices, and Implants.