Can Energy Drinks Cause Heart Attacks? Here’s What You Should Know Before Consumption
A 2016 research found that energy drinks could increase blood pressure, which is a great contributor to the risk of stroke and heart attack.
In 2015, a man from Texas was reported to have suffered a heart attack, and his habit of frequently consuming energy drinks is allegedly to blame for such an occurrence.
According to the case report, the 26-year-old man told the health workers who treated him that he had consumed up to 10 energy drinks, and he had been doing it on most days.
The man's excessive consumption of ED reportedly led to a "blood clot to form that partly blocked a blood vessel near his heart," resulting in a heart attack.
Researchers said, as indicated in the case report, energy drink consumption was a growing health issue because of "limited regulation and more frequent use," particularly among the younger demographics.
The researchers added that with considerably higher contents of caffeine compared to soda and coffee, not to mention, containing other poorly assessed substances, there is a definite potential for danger or harm, particularly when consumed frequently and in large amounts.
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Common ED Ingredients
Young people typically consume EDs as a secondary source of dietary supplements and to help them "get through the day." The said drink, which contains caffeine, as well as other stimulants, was first introduced in the United States in 1997.
Reports indicate EDs are consumed by up to 50 percent of the population of young people in the US. More so, famous brands in the country include Red Bull, Monster, Amp, and Rockstar, among others.
Such brands are frequently used to enhance weight loss, performance in sports, energy levels, concentration, and to avoid the aftereffects of drinking alcohol.
In connection to this, energy drinks are comprised of sugar, taurine, vitamin B complex, guarana, ginseng, and high levels of caffeine. Essentially, the majority of the ingredients mentioned have not been studied thoroughly.
How Does ED Consumption Cause Heart Attacks?
A research conducted in 2018 by Houston-based University of Texas Health Science Center showed that consuming just a small bottle of energy drink had an unfavorable impact on the flow of blood through the arteries. Such a flow could result in serious heart problems.
To come up with the result it expects to achieve, scientists conducted a series of special tests of the blood vessels in more than 40 healthy students and gave each of the participants a "24-ounce energy drink."
The said study was not the first time such questions about the link between energy drinks and the heart. In 2016, another research found that energy drinks could increase blood pressure, which is a great contributor to the risk of stroke and heart attack.
Then, a 2017 study presented that EDs could also lead to problems with heart rate. More so, other risky heart conditions have been associated with energy drinks, even in young individuals.
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Are Energy Drinks Safe to Drink?
According to reports, the safety of energy drink consumption remains debatable since there are numerous cases in which they have produced negative results in patients.
According to reports, emergency visits linked to energy drinks have increased. They are frequently found as combined with other ingredients, which included drugs and alcohol; further potentiating changes can result in illness and, sometimes, death.
EDs' Link to Risk of Cardiovascular Occurrences
The risk of cardiovascular disease linked to energy drinks is also debatable. Relatively, case reports have been presented that said the drinks lead to "arrhythmia," although the instrument, the reports also indicated, "Is not well known."
Several studies, though, suggest that energy drinks do not, in fact, lead to arrhythmias. However, other studies have shown the condition takes place only at higher doses or more frequent intake of energy drinks.
In addition, it remains unknown as to why some individuals are more vulnerable to arrhythmias. Possibly, some people are hereditarily vulnerable to the impacts of EDs, leading to the condition as mentioned above, or it may be the actual consumption of EDs that put an individual at risk.
Reports also present a lack of research in terms of "chronic ingestion of energy drinks," as well as the continuing risks.
Other changes in cardiovascular health that are linked to energy drinks include coronary vasospasm, cardiac arrest, aortic aneurysm dissection, and acute coronary thrombosis, among others.
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