Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Medications and Long-Term Risk of Cardiovascular Diseases
If I stay on methylphenidate for several years, how often should we check my blood pressure and heart rate, and what readings would change the plan?
Well-supported by good-quality research. how we score evidence
Caveat on this rating: Association, not proven causation; one senior author reports grants and personal fees from Takeda (an ADHD drug maker) outside the work. Contrasts with Habel 2011, which found no short-term rise in serious cardiovascular events.
In a Swedish national study of 278,027 people with ADHD, each added year of ADHD medication use was associated with a 4% higher relative risk of cardiovascular disease, reaching about 23-27% higher risk after 3 or more years, driven mostly by hypertension and arterial disease.
Worth asking
If I stay on methylphenidate for several years, how often should we check my blood pressure and heart rate, and what readings would change the plan?
What it is FDA approved for
Read off the label. Trial duration and approval year are shown only where they were recorded — never inferred.
- Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
- Narcolepsy
Source
Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Medications and Long-Term Risk of Cardiovascular Diseases — Zhang L, et al. (2024)
Top-tier peer-reviewed journal
Read the source: https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2023.4294
DOI: 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2023.4294
How this was scored
- Study design
- Case-control study
- Funding
- Independently funded
- Published in
- Top-tier peer-reviewed journal
- Sample size
- 62,060
- Preregistered
- No
- Conflicts disclosed
- Yes
- Independent of proponent
- Yes
- Retracted
- No
Read the full scoring rubric, including what it can't tell you.
Published August 19, 2026.
Questions
How strong is the evidence behind this?
Resolv rates this source "strong evidence". Well-supported by good-quality research. It scores 74 out of 100 on our published rubric. One caveat travels with that badge: Association, not proven causation; one senior author reports grants and personal fees from Takeda (an ADHD drug maker) outside the work. Contrasts with Habel 2011, which found no short-term rise in serious cardiovascular events. The score is calculated from recorded facts about the source — study design, funding, publication venue, sample size, preregistration — not typed in by an editor.
What is the source for this?
Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Medications and Long-Term Risk of Cardiovascular Diseases — Zhang L, et al. (2024). Published in: Top-tier peer-reviewed journal. DOI: 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2023.4294. The full source is linked on this page so you can read it yourself.
Who paid for this research, and does that matter?
Study design: Case-control study. Funding: Independently funded. The researchers were independent of whoever benefits from the result. Industry sponsorship is one of the most reliably measured biases in medicine, which is why funding carries real weight in the score rather than sitting in a footnote.
Is methylphenidate (Ritalin, Concerta, Metadate, Daytrana, Quillivant, Jornay), ritalin, concerta, metadate, daytrana, quillivant, jornay FDA approved?
Yes — FDA approved for Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), Narcolepsy. Approval is for a specific indication, not for everything the drug is prescribed for.
Is this medical advice?
This is information to bring to your prescriber, not medical advice and not a reason to change anything on your own. Nothing here is an instruction to stop or reduce a medication. If you are in crisis, call or text 988.
This is information to bring to your prescriber, not medical advice and not a reason to change anything on your own. Nothing here is an instruction to stop or reduce a medication. If you are in crisis, call or text 988.