Stimulant Medications and Attention Deficit–Hyperactivity Disorder

To the Editor: On February 9, 2006, a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory panel recommended that stimulant drugs prescribed for attention deficit–hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) carry warnings about the potential for an increased risk of sudden death and cardiovascular problems such as hypertension, cardiac arrest, arrhythmias, and stroke.1 Although stimulant drugs are known to cause adverse cardiovascular effects,2,3 little is known about the incidence and type of adverse events in the community setting. To explore this issue, we examined adverse events from stimulant medications prescribed for the treatment of ADHD. We used data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance . . .