Energy Drinks Could Trigger Heart, Blood Pressure Alterations

Consuming 32 ounces of energy drinks could cause significant changes in the heart's electrical activity and blood pressure, according to a new study. It is also reported that there have been links of energy drink with emergency room visits and deaths, which prompted to investigate the safety of these drinks.

Emily A. Fletcher, Pharm.D., one of the authors of the study and deputy pharmacy flight commander from Davis Grant U.S.A.F. Medical Center at Travis Air Force Base in California, said that they have decided to examine energy drinks' potential heart health impact due to past research that showed 75 percent of the base's military personnel have drunk an energy drink. Among them, about 15 percent of military personnel, who drink three cans each day when deployed, are the ones being examined in this research.

The findings of the study were printed in the journal of the American Heart Association. The researchers gave the participants either an energy drink or control drink that has the same amount of caffeine, yet it had lime juice and cherry syrup. The research indicates that those who drank energy drinks had an elevated blood pressure and corrected QT interval 10 milliseconds higher, according to Independent.

The scientists also gauged the electrical activity of participant's hearts using the electrocardiogram. It also includes measuring their peripheral and central blood pressures at one, two, four, six and 24 hours after drinking. Fletcher explained that the peripheral blood pressure is the capacity of the pressure in the outlying artery. Meanwhile, the central blood pressure is the amount of the pressure in the aorta near the heart that is a better method to examine health outcomes linked to elevated blood pressure.

The results of the elevated blood pressure among the participants who drank energy drinks indicate that ingredients other than caffeine may have blood pressure impacts. On the other hand, this needs further examination. Fletcher is also urging that people, who have high blood pressure, primary cardiac conditions and other health issues, must avoid or use caution in consuming energy drinks until further studies show the impact on heart health, as noted by Medical News Today.