Adderall, Vyvanse Use Increases Heart Disease Risk: Study

Long-term use of drugs like Adderall and Vyvanse can increase a person’s risk of being diagnosed with heart disease later in life, according to a new study.

Researchers from Sweden, who published findings Wednesday in JAMA Psychiatry, found that the popular attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) drugs could cause potential harm to the heart. 

While ADHD drugs like Vyvanse carry a warning label for serious cardiovascular reactions in children or adults who currently have heart problems, the study highlights a risk many may not consider when using the drugs.

For their research, the Swedish team analyzed the data from 278,027 people aged six to 64. Each participant had a diagnosis of ADHD or had taken medications between 2007 and 2020. 

The researchers found that the longer the ADHD medications were used, the higher the risk of developing certain heart problems, such as arterial disease, in which fat deposits build up in the arteries and high blood pressure. In the long run, the medications can also increase the risk of heart attacks, the researchers stated. 

ADHD is one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders among children, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It’s estimated that in the United States, the condition affects around 6 million children between the ages of three to seventeen. 

The condition usually lasts into adulthood. But it’s also possible to be diagnosed with ADHD in adulthood, especially if cues and symptoms were overlooked during childhood. 

Research shows that ADHD diagnosis also spiked in the aftermath of the pandemic, and so did stimulant medication prescriptions. A March 2023 CDC study found that adult women were largely affected due to the pandemic-related strain that drove the surge. 

“These findings highlight the importance of carefully weighing potential benefits and risks when making treatment decisions on long-term ADHD medication use,” the researchers wrote.

“Clinicians should be vigilant in monitoring patients, particularly among those receiving higher doses, and consistently assess signs and symptoms of [heart disease] throughout the course of treatment. Monitoring becomes even more crucial considering the increasing number of individuals engaging in long-term use of ADHD medication," the researchers added.

While one year of continuous use of the ADHD drugs had little impact on heart disease risk in the study, using it for more than one year led to a 9% risk, and two or more years was associated with a 15% increased risk. Those who used the drug for three or more years had a 27% spike in the risk for heart disease. 

However, after analyzing the data set collected over the 14-year period, the researchers calculated that with each additional year of ADHD use, the risk of heart disease increased by 4% on average.

The risk was greatest for heart problems after taking the brain-stimulating medicines for three continuous years. The risk was found to be the same regardless of age. 

With soaring ADHD diagnoses in recent years, the researchers wrote that “the use of ADHD medication has increased greatly in both children and adults during the past decades.”