Consumption of energy drinks by people with genetic heart issues puts them at risk of cardiac events, according to a recent study. “It has been postulated that the highly stimulating and unregulated ingredients alter heart rate, blood pressure, cardiac contractility, and cardiac repolarization in a potentially proarrhythmic manner,” the researchers said. The study looked at the impact of energy drink consumption among people with genetic heart diseases (GHD), analyzing data about patients who survived sudden cardiac arrest (SCA).
People with genetic heart diseases have a higher risk for SCA and sudden cardiac death, the study noted. “The surge in popularity of energy drinks, increasing levels of caffeine content per serving, and presence of several unregulated ingredients raise concern about their use in patients with GHDs.” Among 144 SCA survivors, seven of them (5 percent) were found to have consumed one or more energy drinks in close proximity to the cardiac event.
Of the seven, six were female. “Energy drinks could be triggering SCA in individuals with GHD,” researchers wrote, also noting that energy drinks are mostly consumed by men in the age group of 18-34 years. Three out of the seven patients said they consumed energy drinks frequently while the remaining four said their consumption was infrequent.
Six out of seven patients required a rescue shock for malignant arrhythmia. Manual resuscitation with chest compressions and precordial thump was performed on .
