Energy Drinks Affect the Heart Rate and Blood Pressure

BEACON TRANSCRIPT – Energy drinks offer a sudden boost of energy while performing physical activities, but they might not be healthy at all. A new research discovered that the consumption of such drinks might raise the blood pressure and cause irregular heartbeats.

Energy drinks are widely used among military personnel, as they depend on the energy boost they receive after drinking them. Thus, the United States Army decided to see what effect these drinks have on our health, and if they pose certain risks for those who consume them on a regular basis.

For the study, researchers chose 18 healthy people aged between 18 and 40 from an army air base. They split these people into two groups, and each person had to drink 32 ounces of a drink, without knowing what the drink was.

Energy drinks affect the heart rate and blood pressure

One group was given an energy drink which contained 108 grams of sugar, 320 milligrams of caffeine, and some other ingredients usually found in such drinks. The second group received a different beverage used as a control method. This one contained 40 milliliters of lime juice, 320 milligrams of caffeine, and 140 milliliters of cherry syrup.

Six hours after the participants consumed the drinks, the researchers monitored both their blood pressure and the heartbeat rhythms. Then, they looked at these parameters again the following day. After six days, the drinks were switched between the groups and the researchers analyzed the parameters again.

Some scientists say the study is not conclusive

They discovered that the energy drinks affected the heart rate of the participants, as it increased by 10 milliseconds. Moreover, the blood pressure was also increased, and it remained high in those who consumed the energy drink.

However, there are some people who oppose these results. They say that the researchers would have needed a larger group of participants for the study to be relevant. Their argument does not combat the fact that energy drinks affect these parameters in a person, but they say that they are not likely to cause cardiovascular diseases in those who are not at risk.

The researchers organized their findings in a study and published it in the Journal of the American Heart Association, and you can consult it here.
Image Source: Wikimedia Commons