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case study: energy drinks and a young man's heart attack
'the patient stated that he drank any kind of energy drink he could get access to.'
a 26-year-old's heart attack was linked back to energy drinks and cigarettes.
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each week we comb through science journals to explore a baffling medical issue.
when energy levels are low, most people try to focus on eating better and getting a good night’s sleep. when you’re 26 years old, however, perhaps you’d rather crack open another energy drink.
such was the case for a relatively healthy texas man who made his way to the hospital in 2015, nine hours after suffering a heart attack. he was experiencing chest pain, sweating profusely, and experiencing numbness in his left arm when he arrived at the emergency room, according to live science. he also reported vomiting shortly before entering the hospital.
doctors quickly narrowed their focus when their patient revealed his chest pain followed the consumption of 10 large energy drinks — something he did each and every day. he also paired his power drinks with a daily pack of cigarettes.
“’the patient stated that he drank any kind of energy drink he could get access to,” researchers noted in the man’s case report. “energy drink consumption is a growing health concern due to limited regulation and increasing use, especially in younger demographics. with substantially higher caffeine content than soft drinks or coffee beverages, as well as other poorly studied substances, there is significant potential for harm, especially when consumed in large quantities.”
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doctors suspect the man, who had no obvious risk factors beyond smoking and consuming an insane amount of caffeine, may have experienced an energy-drink induced blood clot that reduced the flow of blood to his heart and caused the attack. they did not rule out his nicotine habit, however, acknowledging that smoking could also have restricted his coronary artery.
“since it is just one case, it is always very hard to know exactly what the cause is,” cautioned robert ostfeld, a cardiologist and director of the cardiac wellness program at new york’s montefiore medical center. “it is certainly possible (the heart attack) was related to the energy drink intake but we could never know that for sure from a single case.”
ostfeld, who was not involved in treating the patient, said that although it is hard to prove the attack was evidence of causation and not correlation, he was familiar with other cases connecting heart attacks and temporary heart palpitations to energy drinks. “it is hard to argue that (energy drinks) are healthy,” he said at the time, adding more research was needed to determine if energy drinks make blood more likely to clot.
more recent studies have attempted to do just that and concluded that even one energy drink “notably diminished” the blood vessel function of otherwise healthy, young adults.
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doctors were right about their hunch in this case, as a cardiac catherization revealed a complete blockage of one of the man’s left arteries in addition to other mild irregularities. they inserted a stent to improve the flow of blood and released him from the hospital two days later with strict instructions to leave the energy drinks in the past.
there are better options to find the strength to deal with our trying times, anyway, ostfeld said, including loading up on the humble beet — a vegetable that helps the body’s power-producing mitochondria find the next gear. “if you are looking to have a lot of energy, get some sleep and eat a whole-food, plant-based diet.”
breaking out the beets may not seem as sexy as a flashy energy drink, but your heart will thank you later.
dave yasvinski is a writer with healthing.ca
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