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| A Victim of Ritalin My name is Larry; I am here to let you know about the death of our fourteen-Year-old Son Matthew. He died on March 21, 2000. The cause was determined to be from the long- term (age 7-14) use of Methylphenidate a medication commonly known as Ritalin.The Certificate of Death under due to, (or because of) reads. Death caused from Long Term Use of Methylphenidate, (Ritalin). According to Dr. Ljuba Dragovic, The chief pathologist in Oakland County Michigan, said upon autopsy, Matthew's heart showed clear signs of small vessel damage, the type caused by stimulant drugs like amphetamines. The medical examiners told me that a full-grown man's heart weighs about 350 grams and that Matthew's heart weight was about 402 grams. Matthew did not have a preexisting heart disease or defect that we knew of. We, his parents never ignored his medical needs. The medical examiner said this type of heart damage is not easy to detect with the standard test performed, necessary for prescription refills. While visiting the doctor with the schools diagnosis and the recommendation for Ritalin, he seemed very frustrated and asked us to let the school know, I am not a pharmacy. This leads me to believe that we were not the first parents sent to this doctor, with the schools diagnosis and recommendation for Ritalin. No one ever informed us of other crucial tests (echocardiogram) that we could have had done that would have discovered the enlargement of the heart muscle, caused from scare tissue which these types of drugs cause. The standard test performed consists of blood work, listening to the heart, questions about school behaviors, sleeping and eating habits. Additional References
The sad case of Lawrence Smith's 14 year-old son,
Matthew, who died from long-term use of Ritalin appears on several websites:-
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