ADHD drugs linked to sudden death

New evidence from a government-backed study suggests that attention deficit drugs like Ritalin and Adderall can increase the risk of sudden death, yet federal health regulators continue to urge parents to keep their children on the medications.

The study, which appears in the American Journal of Psychiatry, suggests that the stimulant drugs used to treat attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder may be linked to sudden death in children and adolescents.

Drugs like Ritalin and Adderall already carry warnings about the risks of heart attack in children with heart conditions, but scientists are now seeing if the same risks apply to children without pre-existing heart issues.

According to the study conducted by the National Institute of Mental Health, healthy children using the medications had an increased risk of sudden death when compared to children not taking the drugs.