If you regularly rely on a couple cans of your favorite energy drink to get you through the day, you may want to reconsider your approach. A new study found a link between energy drink consumption and an increased risk for high blood pressure and an abnormal heart rhythm.
The Study
Researchers at the University of the Pacific and David Grant Medical Center recruited 27 healthy volunteers between the ages of 18 and 40 for their energy drink study. Volunteers were divided into three groups: participants in the first group were given two cans of an energy drink, those in the second were given two cans of a drink containing ginseng (a common ingredient in popular energy drinks), and those in the third received a placebo. All volunteers received this beverage dose once a day, every six days, for three weeks, but did not know which beverage they were drinking.
The scientists measured study participants’ blood pressure and QTc interval (a measure of abnormal heart rhythm) before the volunteers consumed their beverage and four more times in the six hours after they finished the drinks. What they found might not be too surprising to anyone who has ever felt their heart racing after consuming a Red Bull or Rockstar: participants in the energy drink group had a statistically significant increase in their QTc interval and a slight increase in blood pressure for up to two hours after finishing their drink.
Blood Pressure Chart
Participants in the ginseng and placebo groups had no significant increase in their QTc interval or blood pressure.
More Information Needed on Long-Term Effects
The study does not reveal whether energy drinks have any long-term impact on the heart and vascular system, and more research needs to be done to see if the results of this small study bear out. In the meantime, researchers urge consumers to exercise caution when considering energy drinks and warn that anyone with Long QT syndrome (a condition that causes an abnormally fast heart rate) should steer clear of energy drinks altogether.
This is not the first study to suggest that energy drinks, which typically contain a large amount of caffeine and sugar, can have detrimental health effects and raise blood pressure. However, these beverages continue to be popular, representing a $110 billion industry in the US.
