(Press-News.org) ROCHESTER, Minn. — A Mayo Clinic study found that a single 25 mg dose of a combination of amphetamine-dextroamphetamine salts (Adderall) can have measurable cardiovascular effects in healthy young adults. The study aimed to better understand how the stimulant affects those who use it without a medical prescription.
"The primary objective of our study was to investigate how a single dose of Adderall acutely affects cardiovascular hemodynamics — blood pressure and heart rate — and sympathetic activity in young adults who do not have a medical indication for the medication," says Anna Svatikova, M.D., Ph.D., a Mayo Clinic cardiologist and senior author of the study.
While Adderall is safe and effective when prescribed and monitored for ADHD, Dr. Svatikova says the risks of unsupervised use are often underestimated.
"We have seen an increase in nonmedical Adderall use, but many users are unaware that it can place acute stress on the cardiovascular system," says Dr. Svatikova.
"Adderall is sometimes used without a prescription outside of a medical setting,” she says. “We found that even in individuals with no prior exposure, a 25 mg dose triggers significant increases in blood pressure, heart rate and activation of the body’s stress-response system."
Researchers also noted that Adderall caused the heart rate to spike much higher than usual just by standing up.
"The average heart rate increase on standing was 19 beats per minute before Adderall. After taking Adderall, that response doubled to 38 beats per minute," says Kiran Somers, D.O., a resident physician in the Department of Family Medicine, Mayo Clinic Eau Claire, and lead author of the study.
Researchers say the findings highlight how stimulant effects can be in individuals who are not accustomed to the medication.
"These results demonstrate measurable, acute cardiovascular effects of Adderall used by those not regularly using Adderall prescribed for specific medical reasons," says Dr. Somers.
The researchers underscore that these findings apply to off-prescription use and do not reflect the long-term, supervised use of the medication for the treatment of ADHD. Dr. Svatikova shares that these findings should not be extrapolated to the long-term, supervised use of Adderall for the treatment of ADHD or other specific medical conditions, where the therapeutic benefits are well established and significant.
###
About Mayo Clinic
Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit organization committed to innovation in clinical practice, education and research, and providing compassion, expertise and answers to everyone who needs healing. Visit the Mayo Clinic News Network for additional Mayo Clinic news.
END
Mayo Clinic study finds single dose of non-prescribed Adderall raises blood pressure and heart rate in healthy young adults
2026-03-02
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Engineered immune cells show promise against brain metastases in preclinical study
2026-03-02
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — March 2, 2026 — A new study from researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine has identified a promising strategy to treat brain metastases, one of the most challenging and deadly complications of lung cancer.
The research team developed a highly specialized type of immune cell, called a CAR macrophage, or CARMA, designed to find and attack tumor cells that spread to the brain. These engineered macrophages were able to enter the brain, seek out cancer cells and slow tumor growth ...
Improved EV battery technology will outmatch degradation from climate change
2026-03-02
Climate change was poised to create an interesting catch-22 for electric vehicles. Electrifying transportation can go a long way to reducing carbon emissions that are driving up global temperatures. But warmer temperatures also accelerate the degradation of batteries, whose performance can be a make-or-break factor for people considering an EV purchase.
In a new study led by the University of Michigan, however, researchers have shown that batteries have gotten a lot better over the past several years. So much so, in fact, that their gains ...
AI cancer tools risk “shortcut learning” rather than detecting true biology
2026-03-02
New research warns that popular deep learning systems trained for cancer pathology may be relying on hidden shortcuts rather than genuine biological signals.
Artificial intelligence tools are increasingly being developed to predict cancer biology directly from microscope images, promising faster diagnoses, and cheaper testing. But new research from the University of Warwick, published in Nature Biomedical Engineering, suggests that many of these systems may be using visual shortcuts rather than true biology — raising concerns that some AI pathology tools are currently too unreliable for real-world patient ...
Painless skin patch offers new way to monitor immune health
2026-03-02
Researchers at The Jackson Laboratory (JAX), in collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), have developed the first bandage-like microneedle patch that can sample the body’s immune responses painlessly from the skin. The device detects inflammatory signals within minutes and collects specialized immune cells within hours without the need for blood draws or surgical biopsies.
Already, the patch is helping researchers and clinicians study immune responses in aging and skin autoimmunity, including vitiligo and psoriasis. In the future, it could make it easier to track how people respond to vaccines, infections, and cancer therapies by complementing ...
Children with poor oral health more often develop cardiovascular disease as adults
2026-03-02
A tooth cavity and bleeding gums is a common scenario among Danish children – and one that researchers now connect to health problems long after the last baby tooth has left the mouth.
Children who have multiple tooth cavities or suffer from severe gingivitis show a markedly higher incidence of stroke, heart attack and coronary artery disease as adults. That’s the conclusion of a new study by researchers at the University of Copenhagen.
The researchers analysed data from 568,000 children born in the 1960s and 70s from the Danish Health ...
GLP-1 drugs associated with reduced need for emergency care for migraine
2026-03-01
EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE UNTIL 4:00 P.M. ET, SUNDAY, MARCH 1, 2026
Highlights:
For people with chronic migraine, starting GLP-1 drugs for conditions like diabetes may be associated with fewer emergency department visits.
A preliminary study has found that people who started GLP-1 drugs were approximately 10% less likely than those who started topiramate to visit the emergency department over the following year.
They were also about 14% less likely to be hospitalized for any reason during the year.
This observational study does not prove that the drugs lower the need for emergency care for people with migraine. It only ...
New knowledge on heritability paves the way for better treatment of people with chronic inflammatory bowel disease
2026-03-01
Approximately 60,000 Danes live with chronic inflammatory bowel disease. Some experience limited discomfort, while others go through a debilitating disease course involving surgery and a stoma. Add to this the fear of leaving home due to urgent toilet needs.
One of the major challenges with the disease is that doctors cannot predict what kind of progression the individual is facing. Therefore, many of those affected are either over- or under-treated, and the opportunity to intervene in time, before the intestine is completely destroyed, is missed.
Now, a new Danish study from the DNRF Center of Excellence PREDICT at Aalborg ...
Under the Lens: Microbiologists Nicola Holden and Gil Domingue weigh in on the raw milk debate
2026-03-01
Manchester City footballer Erling Haaland recently sparked a heated debate when he revealed that he drinks raw milk as part of a whole-food diet intended to maintain peak physical condition.
The revelation drew criticism from health experts who warned that anyone emulating the professional footballer could be leaving themselves vulnerable to harmful bacteria that are normally destroyed by pasteurisation.
US Secretary of Health and Social Services Robert F Kennedy Jr. is another high-profile advocate of raw milk who believes ...
Science reveals why you can’t resist a snack – even when you’re full
2026-03-01
Peer reviewed – experimental study - humans
Research from the University of East Anglia (UEA) may finally explain why we still reach for the biscuit tin, even when we’re full.
A new study reveals that the human brain continues to respond to tempting food cues even after we’ve eaten enough.
In a world of endless adverts and snack cues on every corner, the team say their findings shed light on why so many of us struggle to maintain a healthy weight.
Lead researcher Dr Thomas Sambrook, from UEA’s School of Psychology, said: “Obesity has become a major worldwide health crisis. But rising obesity isn’t simply about willpower ...
Kidney cancer study finds belzutifan plus pembrolizumab post-surgery helps patients at high risk for relapse stay cancer-free longer
2026-02-28
Boston - Patients with a common form of kidney cancer called clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) who have a high risk of recurrence after surgery showed significantly improved disease-free survival when treated with an oral combination regimen that includes belzutifan, a HIF-2α inhibitor, given with standard immune therapy pembrolizumab. These findings, from the phase 3 LITESPARK-022 study, are presented today by Dr. Toni Choueiri of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute at the 2026 American Society of Clinical Oncology Genitourinary Cancers Symposium (ASCO GU) in San Francisco, California, from Feb. 26-28.
Previous Dana-Farber research led by Dr. Choueiri ...