A clinical study led by researchers from University of the Pacific and David Grant Medical Center has come out with strong evidence to suggest that energy drinks may be bad for your heart.
Dr Phillip Oppenheimer, who spearheaded the study said the findings are of special concern among young adults. “Energy drinks are widely consumed within the college population, which further extends the relevance of this study,”
Primary investigator DR Sachin A Shah, an associate professor of pharmacy practice at Pacific’s Thomas J. Long School of Pharmacy and Health Sciences said “ “Our findings suggest certain energy drinks may increase the risk of having an abnormal heart rhythm when consumed in high volumes,”
The study enrolled 27 healthy volunteers between the ages of 18 and 40. Subjects drank either two cans of an energy drink, an equivalent volume of a drink containing panax ginseng (an ingredient in the energy drink), or a placebo beverage once a day, every six days, for three weeks. Neither the volunteers nor the researchers knew who was getting which drink until the end of the three weeks.
The volunteers who consumed the energy drink experienced a statistically significant increase in a marker of abnormal heart rhythm risk known as the QTc interval. These volunteers also experienced a slight rise in blood pressure. These effects persisted for two hours after the energy drink was consumed. The ginseng and placebo groups showed no rises in QTc interval or blood pressure.
The research was funded by a University of the Pacific Eberhardt Research Grant.
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