CHADD's Position on Closer Cardiac Screening for Children and
Adolescents Prescribed Stimulant Medication
Important update to this
statement: the American Heart Association and the American Academy of
Pediatrics issued a clarification
statement on May 16, 2008.
April 21, 2008
The American
Heart Association today released a statement calling for pre-treatment
electrocardiograms and routine cardiac monitoring for children and
adolescents prescribed stimulant medication for
attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD). The call for closer
cardiac monitoring is an attempt to identify the very small number of
children and adolescents who may have an undiagnosed heart problem. This
will bring an even further measure of safety to what is already a safe
clinical treatment approach.
It is important to remember that over fifty years of published research
documents that stimulant medications do not pose a serious cardiac risk
for children and adolescents who do not have an underlying
cardiac problem. CHADD encourages parents with concerns about
stimulant medications to talk with a knowledgeable
medical professional or with their medical treatment team. As
always, parents should monitor their children's reactions to
medications and meet regularly with their prescribing medical
professional. CHADD also recommends a complete medical examination for
all children who are evaluated for AD/HD.
The Food and Drug
Administration, the federal agency charged with monitoring
medication safety, offers information on its Web
site that is helpful for parents concerned
with these issues. The Web site for CHADD's National Resource Center on
AD/HD posts all FDA updates on medications used to treat AD/HD.
The American Academy of
Child & Adolescent Psychiatry and the American Psychiatric
Association created the ADHD
ParentsMedGuide to inform families about symptoms, medications, side
effects, and co-occurring disorders.
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