Canada Warns High BP Patients about ADHD Drug Side Effects

Canada's health ministry asked patients suffering from high blood pressure, heart disease and a number of other medical ailments such as hardening of the arteries , overactive thyroid gland not to take Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) drugs. This is because there is an increase in the number of cases where people suffer rare heart-related side effects. Health Canada also asked the patients to consult their doctors before discontinuing the drug.

The drugs cause trouble with focus as well as hyperactivity and impulsiveness. The main mode of action of these ADHD drugs is the stimulation of the heart and blood vessels in moderate rates but sometime in certain patients it results in cardiac arrests, strokes or death. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are analyzing the reports of patients who had suffered sudden deaths, and other psychotic behavior such as hallucinations. Some of the ADHD drugs which are to be shunned by these patients are Adderall XR, Concerta, Ritalin and Ritalin SR, Dexedrine and Strattera.