Energy drinks can trigger heart problems in healthy teenagers, warn doctors.
One can a day is enough, they said, adding that youngsters need to be aware of the risks of over-consumption and of mixing them with alcohol or drugs.
Cardiologists in Madrid said the drinks, which contain large amounts of caffeine, may trigger sudden heart attacks and erratic heartbeats in young, apparently healthy, people. The dangers are greater for those with underlying heart problems.
The risk of triggering sudden arrhythmic death syndrome (SADS) or other arrhythmias where the heart goes into an irregular beat, can be significant for those with diagnosed disorders, it is claimed.
But a healthy boy of 13 who consumed energy drinks during a football training session suffered an erratic and fast heartbeat known as atrial fibrillation (AF) – a condition uncommon in those without structural heart disease.
Writing in the Canadian Journal of Cardiology, researchers said energy drinks often contain high amounts of labelled caffeine but can also contain ‘masked’ caffeine such as guarana – a plant with twice the concentration of coffee beans.
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