Cardiologists advise caution with energy drinks

Experts warn against the effects of energy drinks

04/03/2015

The consumption of energy drinks can have fatal consequences. Overdose of the caffeine contained in it may cause fatal cardiac arrhythmias in adolescents, young adults and people with underlying heart disease. This is what an international cardiologist team points out „Canadian Journal of Cardiology (CJC).

Consume energy drinks only moderately
Energy drinks are especially popular among teenagers and young adults. When consumed in moderation, trendy drinks are not dangerous for healthy people. However, even a small dose of the caffeine contained in cardiac patients can have fatal health consequences. Those who regularly consume many energy drinks, at the same time leads to an overdose of caffeine. This can cause severe cardiovascular problems even without previous illness.

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA / Parma) has recently published a draft opinion on the safety of caffeine. It says: „Single caffeine doses of up to 200 mg, equivalent to about 3 mg / kg body weight for a 70 kg adult, will rarely cause clinically relevant changes in blood pressure, myocardial perfusion, fluid balance, or body temperature.“ And further: „ Also, daily intake of caffeine from all sources up to 400 mg per day does not increase the safety concerns for adults, except in pregnant women.“The final report is still expected.

Energy drinks are particularly dangerous in combination with sports
An international research team led by Fabian Sanchis-Gomar from the Research Institute of the „Hospital's October 12th "in Madrid has recently presented its own risk assessment for energy drinks, which states that energy drinks can cause sudden cardiac death in apparently healthy adolescents, and that people with underlying heart disease have an increased risk of triggering a fatal arrhythmia. syndrome. „Also, atrial fibrillation, usually rare in children without structural heart disease, was registered with a 13-year-old after a football training and the consumption of an energy drink, "quotes the news agency „APA“ from a broadcast of the CJC.

According to experts, nearly a third of 12 to 19-year-olds regularly drink caffeinated drinks. „These drinks contain high dosages, as they say, "cited the news agency from the journal, and masked caffeine, for example in the form of guarana nuts, may also be present in the drinks, and the nuts contained a multiple of caffeine in comparison In 2007, in the United States alone, some 5,700 cases were recorded in which an overdose of caffeine led to health complaints, with 46 percent of those under the age of 19.

The experts warn against too careless handling of energy drinks. According to her research 250 milliliters of the drink per day is not harmful to health. However, the drinks should not be consumed before or during exercise. For young adults with a heart disease, it is advisable to ask their cardiologist about the risk of the drinks. (Ag)