Drugs & Clinical Trials
Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD): No Heart for the Meds?
The American Heart Association wants doctors to do an electrocardiogram (EKG) — a measure of heart health — in order to determine whether a child is fit to take stimulant medication for attention deficit disorder (ADD). The AHA recently published this statement online. It says there are conditions that a typical physical exam might not pick up, but that would contraindicate the use of these medications.
There isn’t any proof that stimulant medications have caused heart attacks or stroke, but the AHA wants physicians to evaluate for heart disease. There is the theoretical possibility that structural heart conditions that normally would go undetected, could cause a vulnerability to stimulants. If a structural problem shows up, the child may still be able to take the medications, but would require monitoring.
Some of you are wondering why anyone in their right mind would consider medications when this kind of concern exists. Even if you are well-informed, and not affected by alarmists who compare stimulants to cocaine and meth, you might wonder. For many parents and mental health workers, the answer lies in the problems that children with ADD have that can profoundly affect their development. But, you might argue, look at the successful people who also happen to have ADD. Alas, comes the response, those examples don’t erase what we detect in research. There is even some evidence that children with ADD who received stimulant medication have been less likely to abuse drugs later in life. Presumably, this is because they have had richer developmental experiences and feel less marginalized.
So am I an apologist for Big Pharma? No; I understand that it is a difficult decision in an unpredictable world. But I also know that in speaking with scores of people with ADD over about two years, many have said that they were quite thankful that their parents put them on meds. Many who were not on meds as children said they wished they had been, because they were aware of the connection between their difficulties and the academic, employment, or social problems that they had, or were having.
To really understand this issue, one must delve into a number of topics, such as the kinds of adaptations that work for people with ADD, the similarities between ADD and other conditions, such as deafness, that create a sense of community, the state of research and enlightened opinion on various treatments and supplements for ADD, and issues of identity. Among the most important is the nature of developmental windows, and what is lost when they are not navigated successfully.
Reference
Vetter, V.L., Elia, J., Erickson, C., Berger, S., Blum, N., Uzark, K., Webb, C.L. (2008). Cardiovascular Monitoring of Children and Adolescents With Heart Disease Receiving Stimulant Drugs: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association Council on Cardiovascular Disease in the Young Congenital Cardiac Defects Committee and the Council on Cardiovascular Nursing. Circulation, 117(18), 2407-2423. DOI: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.107.189473
Further Reading
Best Supplements for ADD are described at ADD Supplements vs. Medication, a page I maintain, based on what people tell me.
Related Articles
Saturday, July 5, 2008
- The Anti-Psychiatry Movement
- Vaccines - A Two-Edged Sword
- Should Doctors Have Guns?
- Woman Comparable to Men in Domestic Violence: Stereotypes and their Consequences
- Extremist Muslim Doctors Do More Than Heal
- The Bipolar Trend
- The Biopsychosocial Model of Health & Illness
- Unhinging from Theory: Autism and Opinions
- The Implications of Implanted Chips
- Anti-Smoking Campaign Doesn't Mess Around
- Meditation for Troubled Minds: Can the Mind Heal the Mind?
- Encephalon, Thirty-Third Edition
- Mind-Body: We Want Evidence, Don't We?
- Usually It's Cheaper to Pay Than to Go To Court
- God And Religion: Is It All In Our Heads?
- Integrating Schizophrenia Management
- Is War A Psychosis?
- Encephalon, Forthy-Third Edition
- Acknowledging Vaccination Concerns
- Staying the Course Prescribed for Major Depressive and Bipolar Disorders: A Family's Journey Thus Far
- Breaking News - Exercise is Good for You!
- Ethical Obligations of Health Care Workers During a Pandemic
- Treating Psychiatric Disorders - Something Smells Fishy
- Going Beyond Informed Consent
- Anti-Smoking Campaign Doesn’t Mess Around
- Vaccines - A Two-Edged Sword
- Prescriptive Authority - Are Pharmacists “Write”?
- Should Patients with Schizophrenia Receive Free Medication?
- Should Doctors Unionize?
- Blood Glucose and the Brain: Sugar and Short-Term Memory
- Should Doctors be Paid by Drug Companies for Research?
- How Do We Feed Our Children?
- Ethics 101 - Patients Who Hide The Truth
- Food Additives, Hyperactivity, and Common Sense
- Concierge Medicine - The Future or the Past?
- Brain Blogging, Thirty-Fifth Edition
- Are Placebos A Betrayal?
- New Technology for Intracranial Aneurysms
- Stem Cell Research - Man vs. God
- Using Infrared Light to Diagnosis Alzheimer’s
- Sorry - that last post was mine.
We have better medical care than they did in...
- What a great, informative article! I'm new to the blogging world, and found your...
- Thanks Toby, Yes, the numbers are frightening.
So it would be 39 million d...
- Starlight,
On the HHS webcast with teh OSHA folks they did admit that 68% ...
- GASP! Breaking news... Excuse me while I go lay down for a bit... whew
:D...
- Bless you starlight for your realistic math. The WHO numbers don't relate to re...
- I'm writing in RP, too. Once at Ivillage, (sorry, I've been signed in for awhile...
- My father passed away from bladder cancer caused by secondhand smoke. The 38,000...
- I agree about the necessity of DHA. However, DHA from fish is not ideal as it i...
- Since my vote is supposed to represent who I think would best serve my prioritie...
- Also, regarding the "Presidential Elect" (ughhh....) don't blame me - I was a RP...
- We have a lot in common. I pay "little attention" to GMF's (bad I know, but the...
- The WHO's numbers are not accurate.
There are approximately 6.5 Billion peopl...
- Thanks, Kobie.
I appreciate the heads-up regarding the upcoming event. I will d...
- Thanks for the article. Dept of Health and human services is having a webcast on...
- What benefits would a patient with schizophrenia have if they were to have a MRI...
- How ironic to address these issues on the anniversary of our "independence", as ...
- Hi,
I followed a conscious feeding regime with my eldest boy many years ago. ...
- LOL - I know too well of the revolving door of FDA/NIH and Pharma... if you real...
- Dr. Sherry Tenpenny's theory is that if mainstream medicine dares to question '...
Advertisement
Sponsored Links
Neuroscience & Neurology
June 26, 2008 | 4 Comments | By Jennifer Gibson, PharmD
Blood Glucose and the Brain: Sugar and Short-Term Memory
More In Neuroscience & Neurology
- New Technology for Intracranial Aneurysms
- Using Infrared Light to Diagnosis Alzheimer’s
- God And Religion: Is It All In Our Heads?
- Brain Prosthesis: Coming to a Hospital Near You?
- The Great Embryonic Stem Cell Debate
Neuroscience & Neurology
Opinion
July 05, 2008 | 2 Comments | By J. R. White
Breaking News - Exercise is Good for You!
More In Opinion
- Vaccines - A Two-Edged Sword
- How Do We Feed Our Children?
- Stem Cell Research - Man vs. God
- Only the Rich Get Old?
- Extremist Muslim Doctors Do More Than Heal
Opinion
Psychiatry & Psychology
July 03, 2008 | 2 Comments | By Jennifer Gibson, PharmD
Treating Psychiatric Disorders - Something Smells Fishy
More In Psychiatry & Psychology
- Should Patients with Schizophrenia Receive Free Medication?
- Does Having ADHD Mean Doing Poorly in School?
- Self-Medicating with Over-The-Counter Medicines for Mental Illness
- Interactive Effects of Genetics on Depression
- Postpartum Depression: Not Just For Moms















Leave a Reply