Hypertension due to ADHD medication

ADHD medication can cause an increase in blood pressure

30.01.2012

Ritalin, a drug used to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), is suspected to increase blood pressure. Children and adolescents taking Ritalin should therefore have their blood pressure checked regularly.

According to the expert of the German Society of Pediatric Cardiology, Martin Hulpke-Wette, ADHD patients are at an increased risk of hypertension due to the use of Ritalin. There is evidence that the drug methylphenidate, which is commonly used in conventional medicine for the treatment of ADHD in children and adolescents, „in 80 percent of the patients“ increased the blood pressure, said the Göttingen specialist in pediatric and juvenile medicine to the news agency „dpa“.

Regular blood pressure controls
Children and adolescents who are being treated for Ritalin for diagnosed attention deficit / hyperactivity disorder should, according to the expert, be monitored for blood pressure every three months. Because the Ritalin active ingredient methylphenidate brings a significantly increasing risk of increases in blood pressure with it. Although climb this „usually only slightly, but in individuals“ are the blood pressure increases too „strong and permanent“, explained Martin Hulpke-bet. According to the expert, the associated health risks have been significantly underestimated so far. Therefore, a thorough history is urgently needed before treatment with an ADHD drug. If the treating therapist comes to the conclusion that the administration of Ritalin is necessary, in children and adolescents because of the increased risk of high blood pressure at least every three months a check must be carried out, explained Hulpke bet. The „Parents should definitely address this“, advises the expert from the German Society of Pediatric Cardiology.

Warning about other ADHD medications
Around half a million children in Germany today suffer from attention deficit / hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), with the number of diagnoses having increased significantly in recent decades. In fact, most experts are convinced that children and adolescents are no longer ill with AIDS today. The symptoms are only much more often classified as requiring treatment. Since the so-called Zappelphilipp children are often unfocused, fidgety, impulsive and easily distracting, they are particularly noticeable in school life. Not infrequently, those affected are then treated with medication. But many doctors and parents are still extremely critical of these today. Not without reason. Thus, in December, the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (BfArM) together with the manufacturer of the ADHD drug Strattera (active substance atomoxetine) had pointed to a significantly greater blood pressure increase in a part of the patients. Doctors were urged to prescribe the preparation only to a limited extent to people with severe heart problems.

Increased risk of arteriosclerosis due to ADHD medication?
According to Martin Hulpke-Wette, the increased blood pressure in the long term is associated with the risk of later arteriosclerosis for ADHD patients. This is particularly critical in the opinion of the expert, as the drugs are nowadays often prescribed from adolescence to adulthood. „For atherosclerosis, which develops over many years, every risk factor such as obesity, increased lipid levels or smoking counts“, explained Hulpke bet. However, these risk factors affect at least three or more factors occurring simultaneously „no longer additive, but exponential“, emphasized the expert from the German Society of Pediatric Cardiology. Although the pediatric cardiologist generally has no objections „the drug therapy - if on the side effects in the cardiovascular sector“ However, the treating physicians should keep an eye on the long-term consequences and take the necessary precautionary measures. Also, when using Ritalin and Co, it is important to ensure an adequate dosage, which must be continuously adjusted in case of doubt. However, the hypertension was „yes, nothing bad“, as long as this „is discovered and observed“, so the statement of the Göttingen pediatric cardiologist. Frequently, the blood pressure can be normalized by adjusting the drug dose again.

Massive increase in prescriptions of Ritalin
In the professional world, a possible increase in the risk of heart disease due to the long-term use of Ritalin has been a controversial topic for years. Recently came one in the journal „New England Journal of Medicine“ published a large cohort study of US citizens aged between two and 24, concluding that there are no indications of an increased number of „serious incidents“ such as heart attacks or deaths during the two-year study period. Based on increases in blood pressure with drugs such as Ritalin or Strattera, however, significantly different results could be expected in the long term. The increase in prescriptions of ADHD medication noted by the Techniker Krankenkasse (health insurance fund) over the past year is therefore of particular concern to most experts. Between 2006 and 2009, the number of prescriptions had increased by 32 percent, the TK reported in May last year. Almost two tonnes of the controversial drug methylphenidate were therefore spent in Germany in 2009. The pharmacist of the technician health insurance, Edda Würdemann, explained at the presentation of the report once again emphatically that before a prescription of ADHD drugs in any case „A specially trained physician with parents, teachers, and other caregivers should (should) clarify if the symptoms of the minor patients do not have other causes“ can. (Fp)

Also read:
ADHD: Physiotherapy instead of psychostimulants?
More and more children are receiving ADHD medication
Trend reversal in ADHD therapy?
ADHD: concentration through noise
ADHD genetically conditioned?
Allergenic foods favor ADHD
Environmental factors hardly investigated in ADHD

Image: Alfred Healer