Energy drinks could trigger potentially fatal heart problems in hundreds of thousands of Britons, doctors warn

ENERGY drinks can trigger a potentially fatal condition that requires emergency treatment in people with genetic heart disease, doctors warn.

Caffeine fizz can potentially disrupt the heart’s electrical system, increasing the risk of abnormal heart rhythms (arrhythmia).

This can lead to serious health consequences such as sudden cardiac arrest – where the heart stops beating.

Researchers at the Mayo Clinic in the USA analyzed the medical data of 144 patients who survived a cardiac arrest after emergency treatment.

Seven of them, aged between 20 and 42, consumed an energy drink some time before the life-threatening event, with six requiring electric shock treatment and one requiring manual resuscitation.

Three of the patients were regular consumers of energy drinks and four turned out to have a type of genetic heart disease.

The researchers said other factors surrounding the event, such as sleep deprivation, dehydration, diet, extreme fasting, vaping and antibiotic medication, may have created a “perfect storm” leading to sudden cardiac arrest in these patients.

Although the study, published in Elsevier’s journal Heart Rhythm, did not prove a direct cause, researchers still recommend moderate consumption of energy drinks.

Peter J Schwartz, of the Center for Cardiac Arrhythmias of Genetic Origin and Laboratory of Cardiovascular Genetics, in Milan, Italy, wrote in an accompanying editorial: “Critics might say of these findings, ‘it’s just a chance association.’

“We, as well as the Mayo Clinic group, are acutely aware that there is no clear, definitive evidence that energy drinks actually cause life-threatening arrhythmias and that more data is needed.

“But we would be remiss if we didn’t sound the alarm.”

Energy drinks contain caffeine ranging from 80 mg to 300 mg per serving, compared to 100 mg found in a cup of coffee.

Many of them also contain other additional ingredients, such as taurine and guarana, which alter heart rate, blood pressure, and other cardiac functions.

Principal investigator Michael J Ackerman, a genetic cardiologist at the Mayo Clinic, said: “Although the relative risk is small and the absolute risk of sudden death after consuming an energy drink is even lower, patients with a known genetic heart disease predisposing to sudden death should weigh the risks and benefits of consuming these drinks on the scales.”

two

Previous research has found that just one energy drink a month is enough to increase your risk of sleep problems.

And other studies have found that children and young people who drink energy drinks are at greater risk of suicidal thoughts.

Direct links have also been established between excessive drinking and the likelihood of serious health risks affecting the heart, nervous system, liver and kidneys.

An estimated 340,000 people in the UK have an inherited heart disease, according to the British Heart Foundation.

About 620,000 have a defective gene that can cause an inherited heart-related disease.

Every week in the UK, at least 12 young people (under the age of 35) die from an undiagnosed heart condition.