I'd rather die with a cardiac condition than going back to my life before meds. I was practically disabled and unemployed for 20 years because of ADHD. After my late diagnosis and treatment I could even talk like an adult and finally got a job. It was like having a second chance to live.

Thank you for everything you do for us Dr Barkley. My understanding of my ADHD is night and day since I found your channel. I'm glad you point out that these peoples overall health is a huge factor aside from the meds.

Dr. Barkley, thanks for making videos like this! There are so many benefits from what you do - you help people with ADHD, help keep the public AND experts alike informed, and it gives me something to watch 😁

Another useful video, thanks. Cardiac risk is something I am worried about as both of my parents have hereditary arrhythmias (different types though) and I might start taking methylphenidate soon. Congratulations on reaching 50 000 subscribers!

I love hearing your analysis of these studies. It's so much easier to be informed, especially when you share digging into the details. Thank you!

I'm sure tons of people leave comments like this but I just wanted to let you know how much I appreciate your work, doc. I was diagnosed after 30 but I feel now that my mom also suffered from untreated ADHD her whole life - she passed away after complications from a massive stroke made her an easy target for COVID at only 55. Her lifestyle was the problem and I think stimulants (and blood pressure management) could have saved her life.

Thanks Dr. Barkley. I have been wondering about this question.

Great timing with this. Recently went to my doctor because I believe I have adhd. I was born with trans position of the great arteries so before my doctor prescribes me anything he has me going for a stress test and Echocardiography since I haven't had a checkup in so long. Thank you for all the information your putting out to help people.

Thank you for this video - it would be great to see a video on if there are any long term side effects of stimulant medication - people always tell me there is but I can see info on this!

Thank you so much for these updates! Really helps me improve my understanding of ADHD and its treatment.

Thanks for this. The longer term studies run headlong into the confounds from ADHD correlates. As a 60+ year old whose sister (probs also ADHD) died recently of a heart attack this is definitely a hard one. I suspect that meds may have reduced her smoking and general frantic approach to everything

Thank you

I got myself the Whoop 4.0 fitness tracker when i got diagnosed and started the treatment with medication. It shows clearly how the medication influences my HRV HRF and recovery and sleep quality. It helps to manage

약물 복용 1년이 되니 BP 160/100 HR 105로 나타나서 검색하다 보게 되었습니다. 번역되는게 모국어 같이 부드럽지 않지만, 이런 영상를 볼 수 있음에 감사드립니다. 약물복용을 중단하기에는 삶의 질이 떨어질 것 같고... 계속 복용하면 심장질환으로 쓰러질 것 같아 무섭습니다. 해결방법이 있으면 좋겠네요. 영상 올려주셔서 감사합니다😊

It's great that you've put this into perspective with the correlation of ADHD with coronary heart disease, I must have missed that video. I have a family history of high blood pressure and heart attacks, and everyone over 50 is on blood pressure medication. I'm the first to get diagnosed and treated for ADHD. I'd rather take stimulants now and enjoy my quality of life, and if I eventually do develop high blood pressure, I don't believe it will be because of medication.

Another oversight is controlling for underlying heart issues being a cause for diagnosis of ADHD due to confused symptom attribution, such that when low doses of medications doesn't help, doses are increased and maintained until the impending heart failure manifests.

🎯 Key Takeaways for quick navigation: 00:00 🌅 *Overview of Weekly Research Updates* - Weekly research update by Russ Barkley. - Brief introduction, dad joke, and explanation of the format. - Mentions the selection of noteworthy research papers from the week. 01:21 📊 *Study on Long-Term Cardiovascular Risks of Stimulant Treatment* - Discusses a Danish study on the long-term cardiovascular risks of stimulant treatment. - Study uses a large-scale health records database to analyze risks associated with stimulant medications. - Identifies a slightly higher risk of heart attack and stroke in the high-dose group compared to low-dose and discontinuation groups. 03:25 🧐 *Analysis of Study Findings* - Explains the 30% increased risk in the high-dose group over a 10-year period. - Emphasizes the importance of considering absolute numbers, not just relative risk. - Raises concerns about the study's design, including the lack of control for the severity of ADHD, a possible confounding factor. 05:10 🌍 *Contextualizing Study Results* - Highlights the limitations of the study, as it represents only one country, Denmark. - Compares the Danish study findings with a meta-analysis involving 3.9 million people from six different countries, which found no increased risk associated with stimulant medications. - Points out the potential confounding factor of severity of ADHD in the study and its relevance to coronary risk. 07:53 ⚖️ *Consideration of ADHD and Cardiovascular Risk* - Discusses how ADHD alone is linked to an elevated risk of coronary heart disease. - Cautions against taking the Danish study too seriously and emphasizes the need for further research. - References a meta-analysis from a year ago that found no increased risk associated with stimulant medications on a larger scale. Made with HARPA AI

Great content as always! Could you share your thoughts on Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) for adults with ADHD? It would be great to see a review of the latest research on this. Thanks!

Wouldn't the high dose group be more likely to have more severe ADHD symptoms? Also the Zang (2002) notes only two studies had sufficient follow up to not the long term risk of CVD. So the Danish study seem pretty compelling for increased risk

Hi Russ, I think you already posted this video before. Pterodactyl joke was bad enough the first time!

Can you zoom into the page with the browser? It's always very small and almost impossible to read at it's current scale.

WHAT ARE THE DOSE LEVELS OF THE HIGH DOSE VS LOW DOSE?? The dosing parameters would more or less tell us the severity of the AdHd in the sample group.

10 year risk in young people would usually be uninteresting, but 30% is large and if it's 30% in young people, what would that mean in life long risk?

Well, that meta-analysis could only account for events in a median follow-up time of 1.5 years (the range was from 0.25 to 9.5 years). It's probably useful to remember that. I hope we soon get longer follow-up studies, beyond 10 years... more like 20 years.

Why do seagulls fly over the sea? Because if they flew over the bay, they'd be baygulls 🥯 Have you done a similar review of whether stimulants may suppress growth? I've looked before and found mixed results. Thanks for explaining the implications and subtelties as thoroughly as you did. I find the general public has a pretty bad understanding of statistics and variables.

Comment section could be a lot helpful if people refrain from expressing their unnecessary admirations. If you like the video, there is a like button. Leave the comment section to others who bring something to the table and those who have questions

Thanks!

okay i freaking love the dad jokes lol

What about pts with high bp? I see pts at the hospital who need stimulants but I get weary because some have untreated high bp 160/100 or less

What is considered low dose vs high dose, generally?

I started 35mg Methylphenidate about a month ago, here on Isle of Man. I am 51 and only diagnosed with moderate ASC, ADHD, Social Anxiety Disorder and with chronic depression. After 2 weeks I needed to stop because my heart rate shot up from about 85bpm pre medication to over 135 and I was involuntarily clenching my jaw, which I'd never done in my life. I am desperate to try non-stimulant medication but they keep extending the month they will become available. As an adult I have no chance of getting meds on our health service and I spend at least £85 a month for meds privately. It means it isn't possible for me not to work even though I know it is destroying my health. I am a Registered Nurse by the way😢...

How many mg were considered low dose?

Btw my friend, that shirt suits you wonderfully!

Can you review the Leonard Sax article on if ADHD stimulant drugs cause brain damage in minors

This is a reupload, right? Im confused

So I'm a bit confused. What has the severity of ADHD has to do with the dosage/risks? I know people who have severe ADHD and can't take them. Loads of them actually: lots of side effects. And vice versa. I'm on a high dosage and it feels like it does nothing for me (although I do get dumber (careless mistakes) and my impulsiveness shifts: driving gets better, shopping and impulse spending gets worse for instance)

Chances of me dying of heart problems are high and adhd meds are gonna make it higher, I don’t know what to do. adhd is killing me

I don't see how there's no increased risk to cardiovascular disease. Sustained high blood pressure increases your risk full stop. Also sustained high blood pressure isn't healthy even if it doesn't lead to cardiovascular disease. If you're taking stimulants every day, even if your risk is only increased marginally it's still not healthy on the cardiovascular system. Interesting point about the increased risk even without taking stimulants, I didn't know that!

The non-stimulants medication’s the new ones are probably good for older ADHD suffers.

Going to be riding the high from that Dad joke all morning. 😂

May I speculate about the other way around? What if some presentations of hypertension might be one of the adhd causes? I mean, hypertension leads to small artery remodeling. That can cause vascular dementia overtime. These people might have less elastic small arteries since their birth, which would not just explain the development of hypertension in their 30s, but also would explain the adhd presentation in early life due to less oxygen availability for the brain development and could explain vascular dementia in later life in case of poorly treated hypertension.

What is a high dose?

people are basically popping amphetamines like candies and they dont think that gonna hurt eventually their health and cardiovascular system?

Saturday?

Honestly, his points here are pretty weak. First off he's positing that the higher dosed patients might have "stronger" symptoms of ADHD and that could be why there's higher heart disease. He admits that he doesn't know if that's the case, but in this discussion it sure seems like he's made up his mind to convince is the study is bs. Secondly, he then says that medication is shown to improve ADHD symptoms. Then why wouldn't the higher dosed group show significant improvement in ADHD symptoms which would reduce his so-called lifestyle risks? They are taking higher dose of the medication right? Thirdly, these studies only show 10 years of use. As someone who has been on these drugs for 16 years already and only in my 30s, why isn't there any studies on 20 or 30 years of use? I could be taking these drugs til retirement if I went by this guy's advice. And he has no idea or evidence what these would do to us after 40 years of use.

russ can be an honorary zoomer