A recent study conducted by specialists at the Mayo Clinic showed that energy drinks increase the risk of cardiac events, even in younger people. The strong effect energy drinks have on blood pressure is augmented in the case of consumers who are not used to caffeine. Since it has become a habit among young people to drink these energy-boosting products, doctors warn about the risks of heart-attack and stroke.
The experiment included 25 healthy individuals between 19 and 40 and monitored their heart rates and blood pressure. The two heart parameters were measured before the consumption of a typical energy drink (and, respectively, a placebo drink for the control group) and then reassessed 30 minutes after the participants ingested the drinks. The increase in blood pressure during the 30 minutes interval was significantly higher in the ones who were given energy drinks, compared to the control group who drank placeboes.
The so-called “caffeine-naïve” study participants (those who consumed less than 160 mg of caffeine per day) were most affected by rocketing blood-pressure levels. Apparently, the lack of caffeine in the body results in a higher vulnerability to the effects of energy drinks. In the study, the blood pressure variation in energy-drink consumers who were caffeine-naïve was more than twice the variation in placebo consumers.
Energy Drinks Side Effects – Mayo Clinic
Medical Doctor and PhD Anna Svatikova, lead author of the study and cardiovascular diseases fellow at the Mayo Clinic, warned teenagers and young people, who are more likely to be caffeine-naïve, to be careful about energy drink consumption. The research team on energy drinks side effects (Mayo Clinic) has presented the results of this study on Saturday, March 14, at the 64th Annual Scientific Session of the American College of Cardiology, held in San Diego.
Many public figures have taken attitude against high energy-drink and soda drink consumption. Snowboarders Austin Smith and Brian Fox, for instance, launched a campaign to promote water-drinking, back in 2011. Addressed particularly to children and teenagers, the campaign was promoted on their “Drink Water” sweatshirts. The study conducted by Anna Svatikova and her team comes to confirm earlier concerns about the health risks of energy drinks.
image source: The Westside Storycialis information
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