Are you an energy drink freak? Do you function on them? Can’t start your day without these drinks? Are they your substitute for coffee? Well, we have a bad news for you! Drinking energy drinks can be more hazardous for your health, especially heart, as compared to caffeine.
According to a new study, energy drinks can cause extremely harmful changes in your blood pressure and heart functions.
Emily Fletcher along with her team of researchers at David Grant Medical Center, California recruited 18 volunteers under the age of 40, who drank two cans of energy drink or caffeinated control drink, or lime juice & cherry syrup in carbonated water. Both of the mentioned drinks have the same amount of caffeine that is the average of what Americans drink everyday. After about six days they swapped drinks.
Following their drinks, they were given an electrocardiogram, which traces the heart’s electrical activity, and their blood pressure was measured at intervals over the next 24 hours. While blood pressure initially increased in both groups, it was “significantly higher” for six hours after drinking the energy drinks.
Those who drank the energy drinks also had higher QT intervals (time interval between heartbeats) after two hours:
