ADHD Stimulants, Energy Drinks, and Your Athlete’s Heart

A combination worth worrying about

If your teen athlete takes an ADHD stimulant and also drinks energy drinks, takes pre-workout, or has a few coffees before practice, this post is for you.

Energy drinks are in the news right now because of college sports. But the bigger story for sports families is what happens when high-dose caffeine, a prescription stimulant, and hard exercise all land on the same heart at the same time.

Why doctors are pushing back on the Big 12

This summer, the Big 12 made Monster Energy the title partner of its football and basketball seasons, reportedly worth about $20 million a year. Co-branded Monster patches now appear on football and men's and women's basketball jerseys across the conference, along with branding on fields and courts.

A coalition of physicians and scientists, calling themselves Protect Young Fans, has asked the Big 12 and the NCAA to pause youth-facing energy drink promotion and commission an independent health review. They aren't asking to ban energy drinks for adults. Their concern is that kids look up to college athletes, wear their gear, and may come to see energy drinks as part of peak performance, or even confuse them with sports drinks meant for hydration.

Both the Big 12 and Monster have defended the deal. The NCAA's chief medical officer responded that the NCAA doesn't have authority over conference sponsorships, but said it would share the letter with its sports medicine committee and continue educating athletes about caffeine and energy drinks.

Energy drinks and the heart

The physicians' letter names teenagers who died after cardiac events linked to energy drinks, including a 14-year-old, a 16-year-old, and a 17-year-old. One of them, 16-year-old Davis Cripe, died in 2017 from a fatal arrhythmia after drinking caffeinated beverages, including an energy drink.

The doctors' warning is that a teen can look completely healthy until three things hit at once: a stimulant, a hidden heart condition, and physical stress. In one Mayo Clinic review of sudden cardiac arrest survivors, several had underlying genetic heart rhythm conditions they may not have known about, and some had been exercising or dehydrated when they collapsed after an energy drink.

This isn't a niche habit. Cardiology research estimates that nearly 1 in 3 teens ages 12 to 19 regularly drink energy drinks.

In July 2026, the American Heart Association released a scientific statement on caffeine and heart health. It found that up to 400 mg of caffeine a day, about three to five cups of coffee, is generally safe for most adults. But it drew a clear line at energy drinks: high doses of caffeine, like those in energy drinks and energy shots, may harm the heart and should be avoided. Very high doses have been linked to abnormal heart rhythms even in people usually considered low risk, such as healthy adults under 30. And the AHA cautioned that evidence about normal coffee drinking shouldn't be applied to energy drinks.

Those numbers are for adults. Teens are smaller, so the same can is a bigger dose for their bodies. The American Academy of Pediatrics has long said that energy drinks have no place in the diets of children and adolescents.

When your athlete also takes an ADHD stimulant

Stimulants like Adderall, Vyvanse, Ritalin, and Concerta are effective medications, and for many athletes they're an important part of treatment. But they act on the heart too.

A 2022 position statement from the sport cardiology section of the European Association of Preventive Cardiology reviewed the cardiovascular effects of doping substances, commonly prescribed medications, and supplements in athletes. It describes how stimulants release norepinephrine, which raises heart rate, blood pressure, and body temperature and can trigger arrhythmias.

Caffeine works on the same system. It drives the release of catecholamines, the body's "fight or flight" chemicals, and acts as a sympathetic stimulus during exercise. The authors note that intense exercise can amplify caffeine's effects.

So a stimulant and a big dose of caffeine aren't two separate things. They push on the same pedal.

The combination I worry about

Picture a teen who's already on a prescription stimulant. They drink an energy drink or take a scoop of pre-workout. Then they go into a hard practice, maybe in the heat, maybe already a little dehydrated.

That's when the risks stack. The cardiology statement notes that amphetamines can mask fatigue and raise the risk of heat illness. Research in cyclists has shown something similar with other ADHD medications: in the heat, athletes on the medication ran hotter but didn't feel like they were working any harder. Their bodies were under more strain, but the warning signals that would normally slow them down were quieter.

The authors of the cardiology statement warn that athletes often use a mix, or "cocktail," of substances, and that the interactions between them can be extremely dangerous.

What parents can do

1. Read the labels, and know that caffeine hides. Guarana is caffeine: its seeds contain about twice the caffeine of coffee beans. Major energy drink brands now list total caffeine from all sources, but pre-workouts and supplements can be harder to read. Look for guarana, green tea extract, and other added stimulants, and add up everything your athlete takes in a day, including coffee and soda.
2. If your athlete takes a stimulant, talk with their prescriber about caffeine. Make it a specific conversation: what they drink, how much, and when, especially before practice or competition.
3. Know your family's heart history. Ask about fainting, seizures, unexplained sudden deaths, or known heart rhythm conditions in relatives, and share them with your athlete's doctor.
4. Teach your athlete what's in their body. Make sure they understand what they're taking, why combining stimulants matters, and to stop and tell someone about chest pain, a racing or irregular heartbeat, dizziness, or fainting.

This isn't about stopping necessary treatment. It's about making sure the medication that helps your athlete isn't stacked with other stimulants in the moments their heart is working hardest.

References

This post is for educational purposes only and is not medical advice. Talk with your athlete's physician before changing any medication.

1. Adami PE, Koutlianos N, Baggish A, et al. Cardiovascular effects of doping substances, commonly prescribed medications and ergogenic aids in relation to sports: a position statement of the sport cardiology and exercise nucleus of the European Association of Preventive Cardiology. Eur J Prev Cardiol. 2022;29(3):559–575. doi:10.1093/eurjpc/zwab198
2. Marcus GM, Hu FB, van Dam RM, et al. Caffeine and cardiovascular disease: a scientific statement from the American Heart Association. Circulation. Published online July 20, 2026. doi:10.1161/CIR.0000000000001454
3. Sanchis-Gomar F, Pareja-Galeano H, Cervellin G, Lippi G, Earnest CP. Energy drink overconsumption in adolescents: implications for arrhythmias and other cardiovascular events. Can J Cardiol. 2015;31(5):572–575.
4. Martinez KA, Bains S, Neves R, et al. Sudden cardiac arrest occurring in temporal proximity to consumption of energy drinks. Heart Rhythm. 2024;21(7):1083–1088. doi:10.1016/j.hrthm.2024.02.018
5. Committee on Nutrition and the Council on Sports Medicine and Fitness. Sports drinks and energy drinks for children and adolescents: are they appropriate? Pediatrics. 2011;127(6):1182–1189.
6. National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) Sports Medicine Advisory Committee. Position statement and recommendations for the use of energy drinks by young athletes. 2024.
7. Roelands B, Hasegawa H, Watson P, et al. The effects of acute dopamine reuptake inhibition on performance. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2008;40(5):879–885.
8. Protect Young Fans. protectyoungfans.org
9. MedPage Today. Coverage of the Big 12–Monster Energy partnership. 2026.