Tuesday, March 26, 2024

Energy Drinks And Heart Attacks

Don't Miss

Urgent Warning To Gardeners As Soil Increases Risk Of Killer Heart Disease

Warning: St. Louis-based energy drink has ingredient linked to heart attacks, seizures

Gavin Partington, of the British Soft Drinks Association, said: “The European Food Safety Authority confirms the safety of energy drinks and their ingredients.

“Our members do not market or promote energy drinks to under 16s, nor do they sample products with this age group.

“In addition, energy drinks carry an advisory note stating Not recommended for children.

We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at or call 0207 782 4368 . You can WhatsApp us on 07810 791 502. We pay for videos too. Click here to upload yours.

How Risky Are Energy Drinks For Adolescents

The statistics are shocking about the use of energy drinks at younger ages, notes Dr. Hajj-Ali. One study found that 43 percent of 13-to-15-year-olds had tried them.

Energy drinks can cause anxiety, high blood pressure, heart palpitations, and caffeine intoxication and withdrawal, in young people.

And while adolescents may use energy drinks to study, long-term mega-doses of caffeine arent good for the brain, she says.

Energy drinks may enhance arousal but do not improve other cognitive tasks. And contrary to popular belief, they do not help kids with attention-deficit disorder.

Dr. Hajj-Ali does her best to educate young patients about the risks of energy drinks.

Unfortunately, energy drinks are marketed mainly to adolescents, especially on social media, she says. We have to better educate kids and schools about their dangers.

Energy Drinks May Provide Jolt To Heart Blood Pressure

Please note: This article was published more than two years ago, so some information may be outdated. If you have questions about your health, always contact a health care professional.

People who drank 32 ounces of energy drinks in an hour had abnormal electrical activity in their hearts and higher blood pressure four hours later, a small study has found.

The study, published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, enrolled 34 volunteers between the ages of 18 and 40. That makes it the largest controlled study of the effects of energy drinks on the heart and blood pressure in young, healthy people, researchers said. It confirmed findings in earlier studies.

Participants were randomly assigned to drink 32 ounces of one of two commercially available energy drinks or a placebo on three separate days. Researchers charted the electrical activity of their hearts using an electrocardiogram. It recorded the time it takes the heart’s lower chambers to prepare to generate a beat again.

If this time interval is either too short or too long, it can cause the heart to beat abnormally. This resulting arrhythmia can be life-threatening.

For those who consumed an energy drink, the interval was higher at four hours when compared to placebo drinkers. Both the top and bottom numbers in the blood pressure measurement also rose.

If you have questions or comments about this story, please email .

You May Like: What Foods Should Be Avoided With Congestive Heart Failure

Looking For A New Drink That’ll Put You On The Right Track Try Green Tea

Okay, so we just told you all the drinks you should probably remove from your diet, but then what should you replace them with? Our recommendation is green tea. Not only can green tea help repair the damage done from cardiac events, including stroke and heart attack, but the additional benefits associated with the beverage are numerous.

For more, be sure to check out 25 Healthy, Low-Sugar Soda Alternatives.

What Is The Alternative

Can Energy Drinks Cause Heart Attacks? Heres What You Should Know ...

Dr. Hajj-Ali says that, in our society, we try to burn the candle at both ends. So often, when we are fatigued and tired, we think we need more caffeine. But what we really need is sleep, she says.

So the next time youre prowling the coolers for a beverage, forget about grabbing an energy drink look for an alternative, she says, and get some rest.

You May Like: What Time Of Day Are Heart Attacks Most Common

Can Energy Drinks Cause Heart Attacks

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says it’s investigating reports of five deaths and a non-fatal heart attack linked to Monster Energy drinks, one of the multitude of highly caffeinated drinks on the market. FDA spokeswoman Shelly Burgess was careful to add that these reports don’t prove that the drinks caused the deaths.

The FDA likely felt compelled to report its investigation following last week’s filing in California of a wrongful death suit by the parents of a 14-year-old, Hagerstown, Md., girl who died after drinking two, 24-ounce Monster Energy drinks in 24 hours. An autopsy concluded she died of cardiac arrhythmia due to caffeine toxicity. She had an inherited disorder that can weaken blood vessels.

Ingesting that much caffeine in a relatively short period would be a lot for most people, and certainly having a preexisting blood vessel disorder should be taken into account. Nevertheless, these investigations spark an interesting question about what we’re doing to our bodies by slamming energy drinks like water.

The website EnergyFiend provides an exhaustive list of energy drinks/shots and their caffeine content . Here’s just a sample of the most popular drinks:

16 ounce Monster Energy Drink: 160 mg of caffeine

16 ounce NOS Energy Drink: 260 mg

8.4 ounce Red Bull: 80 mg

16 ounce Rockstar: 160 mg

16 ounce Rumba Energy Juice: 180 mg

2 ounce 5 Hour Energy shot: 138 mg

8.3 ounce AriZona Extreme Energy Shot: 100 mg

10 ounce Dunkin’ Donuts Coffee: 132 mg

Need A Boost Avoid The Energy Drinks

As far as many health experts are concerned, beverages marketed as “energy drinks” are simply juices that aren’t worth the squeeze. Not only are they full of refined sugar and other potentially harmful ingredients, but they have been repeatedly shown to increase the risk of health problemseven in children and young adults who are otherwise healthy. Plus, the industry as a whole is poorly regulated and caffeine content is not always accurately listed.

If you’re looking for other ways to boost your energy levels or optimize your physical performance, consider natural options like herbs, tea, and even water. Finally, consider making other healthy life changes in order to support better energy levelssuch as optimizing your diet, immune health, gut health, sleep, and stress levels.

You May Like: What Should Heart Rate Be

Energy Drinks And Sleep Quality

Getting a good nights sleep is one of the most important things you can do for your health. Unfortunately, energy drinks negatively impact your quality of sleep. This may be partly due to the overall goal of the drink in the first place to stave off sleep so you can get more done. However, after the effects of the drink are supposed to have worn off, peopel may still find it difficult to fall asleep even if they are trying to. Several studies have demonstrated that consumption of energy drinks was significantly associated with changes in sleep quality and patterns of students.

Could Energy Drinks Damage Your Heart

Energy Drinks Causing Heart Attacks, ER Visits

Popular energy drinks are great at delivering that jolt of caffeine you may need to finish an intense workout or an all-nighter spent studying. But for some, they may not be so great for your heart.

Research shows that consumption of these highly-caffeinated drinks can lead to a potentially serious heart condition known as Atrial Fibrillation, or Afib, a type of irregular heartbeat occurring in the upper chambers of the heart. If left untreated, Afib could cause heart palpitations, blood clots, stroke, and even heart failure in extreme cases.

The American Heart Association estimates that at least 2.7 million Americans are currently living with Afib.

September is National Atrial Fibrillation Awareness Month. Because our cardiothoracic specialists at CTVS take heart health and the conditions affecting it very seriously, here are a few important things we want you to know about energy drinks and your heart:

Some symptoms of Afib might include:

  • Rapid and irregular heartbeat
  • Fluttering or thumping in the chest
  • Dizziness
  • Shortness of breath and anxiety
  • Light-headness or a sense of confusion
  • Chest pain or pressure

Recommended Reading: Is It Normal For Heart Rate To Increase After Eating

Energy Drinks May Increase Risk Of Heart Function Abnormalities And Blood Pressure Changes

Study Highlights:

  • Three to four hours after drinking 32 ounces of energy drinks, the hearts electrical activity was abnormal compared to drinking a placebo drink.
  • Two different commercially available energy drinks produced the same results, suggesting that energy drinks as a class should be consumed with caution.

Embargoed until 4 a.m. CT / 5 a.m. ET Wednesday, May 29, 2019

DALLAS, May 29, 2019 Drinking 32 ounces of an energy drink in a short timespan may increase blood pressure and the risk of electrical disturbances in the heart, which affect heart rhythm, according to a small study published in Journal of the American Heart Association, the Open Access Journal of the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association.

The study enrolled 34 healthy volunteers between the ages of 18 and 40 years. Participants were randomly assigned to drink 32 ounces of one of two commercially available caffeinated energy drinks or a placebo drink on three separate days. The drinks were consumed within a 60-minute period but no faster than one 16-ounce bottle in 30 minutes.

Researchers measured the electrical activity of the volunteers hearts by electrocardiogram, which records the way a heart is beating. They also recorded participants blood pressure. All measurements were taken at the studys start and every 30 minutes for 4 hours after drink consumption.

The University of the Pacific supported the study.

Additional Resources:

  • Follow AHA/ASA news on Twitter

Beware Of Energy Drinks

With increasing numbers of young people turning up to hospital after downing too many energy drinks, Professor Chris Semsarian discusses the potentially dangerous side effects.

Improved awareness of the potential dangers associated with energy drinks is of great importance was the key recommendation made by myself along with my colleagues Dr Belinda Gray and Dr Jipin Das in a letter to the International Journal of Cardiology.

In writing our letter we looked at more than 10 recent papers that all highlight the growing concern among cardiologists and other health specialists about the rise of energy drinks and the increase in negative events following their use.

Ive also been quoted along with other health professionals and researchers in a recent Mens Health article on this issue and I wrote an article for research news site The Conversation.

Warnings for high-energy drinks

There are a number of reports of potentially deadly side effects on the heart from high-energy drinks in the general population as well as people who have an underlying genetic heart condition. Plus we are seeing more frequent reports of the overall toxic effects of energy drinks. Even if you are of generally good health with no obvious health problems you should avoid energy drinks or, at the very least, limit energy drinks consumption each day.

Increased use of energy drinks

Caffeine in energy drinks

Dangerous side effects

Energy drinks and heart disorders

Increased awareness urgently needed

Recommended Reading: Does Blood Pressure Increase During Heart Attack

Energy Drinks May Prolong The Qt Interval

A prolonged QT interval means a highter QTc value. For some people this means a higher risk of sudden cardiac death, which may appear as a heart attack.

Why Energy Drinks Cause Apparent Heart Attacks

In one investigation , researchers took a look at the QT interval of 93 healthy people after they drank one to three cans of an energy drink.

An EKG showed that their QT intervals were 10 milliseconds longer than the limit for the normal range.

Now you may be thinking, Only 10 milliseconds? How can that make a difference?

Well, it does. Milliseconds count when it comes to how well the heart recharges for its next beat.

If it takes too long , this heightens a persons risk of ventricular fibrillation leading to cardiac arrest.

This isnt a heart attack per se, but rather, the quivering instead of beating of cardiac muscle, making it impossible to pump blood throughout the body.

In general, a cardiologist becomes concerned when theres an extra 30 milliseconds to the QT interval from baseline.

The Shah et al study showed that energy drinks can prolong QT interval.

There is a genetic form of this condition, called genetic long QT syndrome.

But even if the prolonged QT interval is caused by an extraneous agent, such as an energy drink, this anomaly is just as serious a concern and has the potential to cause heart problems.

The study also notes that energy drinks increase blood pressure, which certainly isnt good for the heart.

Stay Away From Energy Drinks

Energy drink addict Martin Bowling heart attack downed eight cans ...

A beverage with carbohydrates will provide you with energy. If youre growing fatigued during sport or training, drink some regular juice or have a banana, peach or apple.

A so-called energy boosting drink is not necessary, even though these are marketed to athletes.

Certain energy drinks can increase the heart rate significantly because they are stimulants, says Yaser Elnahar, MD, a cardiologist with Hunterdon Cardiovascular Associates in NJ.

If you have an excessive amount of stimulants, they can cause rapid heartbeat or even arrhythmias.

There have been case reports of excessive energy drinks and heart attack in which the researchers felt the excess intake led to low blood flow and clotting that led to a heart attack.

There arent trials showing energy drinks cause heart attacks directly.

Dr. Elnahar has publications in the Journal of Atrial Fibrillation, the Journal of Clinical Medicine and Research, Reports in Medical Imaging, and more.
Lorra Garrick has been covering medical, fitness and cybersecurity topics for many years, having written thousands of articles for print magazines and websites, including as a ghostwriter. Shes also a former ACE-certified personal trainer.
.

Don’t Miss: How To Prevent Heart Disease Naturally

Drinking This Just Once Increases Your Heart Disease Risk Warns Mayo Clinic

Medical experts say it’s unsafe to have even one can of this popular drink.

You already know that what you put in your body matters, and that less healthy foods and drinks should be consumed in moderation. However, Mayo Clinic experts warn that there’s one popular beverage that could put you at serious health riskeven in the smallest amounts. In fact, even a single serving may put you at an elevated risk of heart disease. Read on to find out which type of drink is setting off alarm bells for medical professionals.

RELATED: If You Notice This When You Cough, It May Be a Sign of Heart Failure.

Sugar Found To Be Primary Agent Of Demise

The primary agent of this effect was found to be sugar. A 12 oz can of Red Bull contains over 9 teaspoons of sugar. Such extreme amounts of sugar can cause blood vessels to contract. Also, caffeine can cause blood vessels to contract by supporting the release of adrenaline. Energy drinks contain around 80mg of caffeine per 250ml .

Read Also: Which Side Of The Heart Has Oxygenated Blood

Acute Effects Of Energy Drinks On Diastolic Blood Pressure

The Shapiro-Wilk test revealed non-normal distribution for DBP at time 30 for both beverage groups. To achieve normal-distribution, the original DBP data was transformed into sqrt-form. According to Mauchly’s spherical hypothesis test for the interaction term beverage and time, the variance and covariance matrices of the dependent variables were equal . No significant interaction between beverage and time on DBP was demonstrated . The main effect of the variable beverage on DBP was statistically significant and revealed a difference of 3.29 mmHg after ED and placebo consumption .

Figure 3. Main effect of Energy Drink and placebo consumption on diastolic blood pressure .

Moreover, the prevalence of elevated DBP as well as stage 1 and stage 2 diastolic hypertension tended to be higher after ED consumption, compared to placebo intake within the study participants .

Figure 4. Number of study participants with elevated diastolic blood pressure, stage 1 and stage 2 systolic hypertension after Energy Drink and placebo consumption at different time points.

The maximum change in DBP from baseline did, however, not differ significantly after ED consumption compared to placebo intake .

Scientists Issue Warning Against Energy Drinks: They Can Cause Stroke Heart Attack Blood Clots And More

Energy Drink Health Risks: “Monster” Drinks Allegedly to Blame in Anais Fournier Heart Attack Death

Its a staple for many college students. Pulling an all-nighter to get that paper in surrounded by cans and junk food wrappers. Weve all seen it on the television even if we havent indulged ourselves. These carbonated beverages often keep college kids able to function between classes, socializing, and at work. But, at what cost?

You May Like: What Is The Normal Human Heart Rate

Why Do Energy Drinks Cause Rcvs

Experts arent sure why energy drinks trigger RCVS. Some people who have been drinking energy drinks for some time become more sensitive to them as time goes on. Others are very sensitive to begin with, and can develop RCVS the first time they consume one, says Dr. Hajj-Ali.

Unfortunately, there is no way to test for who will develop RCVS and who will not.

The agonizing headache sends most patients to the hospital, where they get a CT scan of the brain. The initial scan can look normal, however, so RCVS may be overlooked at first, she says.

Patients are sent home until the persistent headache brings them back to the ER. Thats when the stroke or hemorrhage shows up on a CT or MRI scan.

Because patients are too young to have developed the usual risk factors for stroke like high blood pressure or high cholesterol doctors must look for another cause.

The statistics are shocking about the use of energy drinks at younger ages. One study found that 43% of 13-to-15-year-olds had tried them.

Doctors typically do a spinal tap to check for an infection or inflammation in the brain. They may also order a magnetic resonance angiogram or an angiogram of the brains blood vessels.

When the brains blood vessels look abnormal, we ask, Is this CNS vasculitis or something else? she says. Most often, it is RCVS, and I feel so bad for these young people, since this could have been prevented.

More articles

Popular Articles

What Is Bpm Heart Rate