In a press release from the ACC, investigators detailed the potential risk of cardiomyopathy in young adult patients with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) who were treated with stimulants. Patients with ADHD—which affects about 10% of all individuals aged 3 to 17 years in the United States—are often treated with behavioral therapy plus either stimulant or nonstimulant drugs. Although prior research has determined that stimulants may increase patients’ blood pressure, these studies have focused on only the first 2 years of stimulant use. In a new study presented by Gerard et al at the ACC Annual Scientific Session 2024, investigators used the TriNetX database to examine the outcomes of 12,759 patients aged 20 to 40 years diagnosed with ADHD who received stimulants. Each of the patients were then matched according to age, sex, and other health conditions with a patient who received nonstimulant treatment. After a follow-up of 10 years, the researchers found that the patients who received stimulants such as mixed amphetamine salts and methylphenidate were 17% and 57% more likely to develop cardiomyopathy after 1 year and 8 years, respectively, compared with those treated with nonstimulant therapy. However, the overall risk of cardiomyopathy was low in both patients who received stimulants and those who received nonstimulants (0.72% vs 0.53%), regardless of long-term use—indicating that physicians may not need to alter screening and prescribing approaches to aggressively test for or prevent the development of cardiomyopathy. In future studies, the investigators hope to identify patient subgroups who may benefit most from screening.