heart conditions and ADHD treatments | ADHD Information

well, call me a fool. But after a long week in and out of the ER and cardiology, I find myself on the path for a cardomyopathy from stimulant use. So, that being said, I was 'pulled' off of adderall (20mg) and now I am waiting for an appt to get the meds sorted out.
Anyone else with ADHD and heart conditions? I wonder what my options are for treatment.

AmyThere are non stimulant treatments like anti depressants and anti hypertensives (clonidine and guanfacine). Did the doctors actually state that the cardiomyopathy was due to stims? My husband has an idiopathic cardiomyopathy. They think this may be caused by an inappropriate immune response to a viral infection. The good news is that with the new meds like Coreg, treatment and outcome for this disorder is better.From what I can recall from the research there's not been adult deaths due to stimulant use and pre-existing heart conditions. In fact I'm fairly certain that there are not any documented cases of a stim med causing a healthy heart to develop problems. If there are problems then it's usually related to pre-existing heart conditions. There has been sudden deaths with children, but only when there was an unknown pre-existing heart condition.

As for increased BP and HR, those are side-effects that happen within the first few weeks of treatment. If they continue past 3-4 weeks then there is a definite problem.  Usually someones system adjusts and the HR and BP return to pre-treatment levels.

MaxDad

All medications for ADHD  (non-stimulant or stimulants) often cause the blood pressure and heart rate to go up which is not suitable for those who have heart diseases.

 

I have a heart arrhythemia, supraventricular tachycardia. I still take Concerta, though I also take heart meds every day. It might be something to look into. You could also try Strattera which is suppossed to not be a stimulant.