WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Researchers at the Mayo Clinic in the U.S. warned that drinking energy drinks, containing high level of caffeine and other stimulating ingredients, could lead to sudden cardiac arrest, especially in people with genetic heart disease.
'Energy drinks are not regulated by the US Food and Drug Administration, so researching the effects that these drinks have on our patients is of utmost importance,' Ackerman said.
For the study titled 'Sudden cardiac arrest occurring in temporal proximity to consumption of energy drinks,', researchers analyzed medical data of 144 patients who had survived a cardiac arrest following emergency treatment. They found that seven of the patients consumed an energy drink, right before the life-threatening event.
'While there seemed to be a temporal relationship between energy drink consumption and the seven patients' sudden cardiac arrest event, a myriad of potential 'agitators' that could have also contributed to a genetic heart disease-associated arrhythmia occurred, like sleep deprivation, dehydration, dieting or extreme fasting, concomitant use of QT-prolonging drugs, or the postpartum period,' Michael Ackerman, lead investigator of the study and a genetic cardiologist at Mayo Clinic.
The findings, published in the journal Heart Rhythm, revealed that 'the highly stimulating and unregulated ingredients alter heart rate, blood pressure, cardiac contractility, and cardiac repolarization in a potentially pro-arrhythmic manner.'
Researchers also warned about high level of caffeine in such beverages, stating that a single serving of energy drink contains 300 mg of caffeine compared to 100 mg of caffeine in a 8-ounce cup of coffee.
'As such, unusual consumption of energy drinks most likely combined with other variables to create a 'perfect storm' of risk factors, leading to sudden cardiac arrest in these patients,' Ackerman commented.
Notably, energy drinks contain additional ingredients, such as taurine and guarana, which could alter heart rate and blood pressure.
'Patients should be educated on minimizing their consumption of energy drinks, and the FDA should be urged to provide guidelines about the proper and safe use of these drinks,' the study concluded.
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