“It is reasonable to consider the use of stimulant medication in patients with congenital heart disease that is not repaired or repaired but without current hemodynamic or arrhythmic concerns or congenital heart disease that is considered to be stable by the patient's pediatric cardiologist unless the patient's pediatric cardiologist has specific concerns.”
Dr. Fassler thinks that more large-scale, long-term research on stimulants and other medications used to treat child and adolescent psychiatric disorders are needed. “Such studies will ultimately help us determine who is most likely to respond to specific interventions, and if there are particular groups of kids who may be at increased risk for certain side effects,” he said.
Future studies are warranted, the authors wrote, to assess the true risk of sudden cardiac death associated with use of stimulant drugs in children and adolescents with and without heart disease.