A new review found that energy drinks are associated with an increased risk of rare but severe medical complications including heart attack and death. Consuming larger quantities further increases the risk, the study found.
Energy drinks can cause heart problems according to research presented at the European Society of Cardiologists’ Congress 2014 today by Professor Milou-Daniel Drici from France.
“So-called ‘energy drinks’ are popular in dance clubs and during physical exercise, with people sometimes consuming a number of drinks one after the other,” Professor Drici said. “This situation can lead to a number of adverse conditions including angina, cardiac arrhythmia (irregular heartbeat) and even sudden death.”
According to Dr. Dici, around 96 percent of energy drinks contain caffeine, with a typical 0.25 liter can holding 2 espressos worth of caffeine. “Caffeine is one of the most potent agonists of the ryanodine receptors and leads to a massive release of calcium within cardiac cells,” he explained. “This can cause arrhythmias, but also has effects on the heart’s abilities to contract and to use oxygen.”
In 2008 energy drinks were granted marketing authorization in France. In 2009 this was accompanied by a national nutritional surveillance scheme which required national health agencies and regional centers to send information on spontaneously reported adverse events to the A.N.S.E.S, the French agency for food safety, Dr. Dici said.
Rare, serious side effects including sudden death associated with energy drink consumption
The current study analyzed adverse events reported to the agency between 1 January 2009 and 30 November 2012. Some 15 specialists including cardiologists, psychiatrists, neurologists and physiologists contributed to the investigation. The findings were compared to published data in the scientific literature.
The researchers found that consumption of the 103 energy drinks in France increased by 30 percent between 2009 and 2011 up to over 30 million liters annually. The leading brand made up 40 percent of energy drinks consumed. Two-thirds of drinks were consumed away from home.
During the two year period 257 cases were reported to the agency, of which 212 provided sufficient information for food and drug safety evaluation. The experts found that 95 of the reported adverse events had cardiovascular symptoms, 74 psychiatric, and 57 neurological, sometimes overlapping. Cardiac arrests and sudden or unexplained deaths occurred at least in 8 cases, while 46 people had heart rhythm disorders, 13 had angina and 3 had hypertension.
“We found that ‘caffeine syndrome’ was the most common problem, occurring in 60 people,” said Dr. Dici. Caffeine syndrome is characterized by a fast heart rate (called tachycardia), tremor, anxiety and headache.
The researchers also found that energy drinks are associated with an increased risk of rare but severe adverse events, such as sudden or unexplained death, arrhythmia (irregular heartbeat), and heart attack (myocardial infarction). “Our literature search confirmed that these conditions can be related to consumption of energy drinks,” concluded Dr. Dici.
Dr. Dici said that patients with cardiac conditions should be aware of the potential danger of a large intake of caffeine, which can exacerbate preexisting condition “with possibly fatal consequences.” However, he adds, even healthy adults are at risk:
“The general public need to know that so-called ‘energy drinks’ have absolutely no place during or after physical exercise, as compared with other drinks designed for that purpose. When used in long alcoholic cocktails, the caffeine in ‘energy drinks’ enables young people in dance clubs or elsewhere to overcome the unwanted effects of alcohol, leading to an even greater intake of caffeine.”
Currently, Dr. Dici said, patients rarely mention consumption of energy drinks to their doctors unless they are asked. He recommends that doctors warn patients with cardiac conditions about the potential dangers of these drinks. Additionally, health care providers should assess energy drink consumption among young people, as well, who may be more likely to consume the drinks in large quantities.