Consuming lots of energy drinks every day may pose a serious stroke risk, doctors have warned in the journal BMJ Case Reports, after treating an otherwise fit and healthy man in his 50s with a daily 8-can habit and exceedingly high blood pressure.
The man in question had a stroke in his thalamus, the part of the brain involved in sensory perception and movement. His symptoms, which are collectively referred to as ataxia, included left-sided numbness and weakness as well as issues with speech, walking, swallowing, and balance.
Millions of people worldwide regularly drink the products, which are non-alcoholic and typically contain more than 150 mg of caffeine per litre, a very high glucose-based sugar content and varying quantities of other chemicals.
Doctors in Nottingham, England, who reported the case in the medical journal BMJ Case Reports, also called for tighter regulation of the sales and advertising of energy drinks.
On admission to the hospital, the patient’s blood pressure was 254/150 mmHg, which doctors said was extremely high. He was given drugs to lower his blood pressure.
But once back home, his blood pressure rose again and remained persistently high, despite the ramping up of his drug treatment.
After more research, medical professionals found that he used 1,200 mg of caffeine daily from energy drinks. A maximum of 400 mg is advised.
He was asked to give up his daily habit, after which his blood pressure returned to normal. Blood pressure-lowering drugs were no longer needed.
“It was therefore thought to be likely that the patient’s consumption of highly potent energy drinks was, at least in part, a contributive factor to his secondary hypertension (high blood pressure) and in turn his stroke,” the doctors wrote in BMJ Case Reports.
The doctors said, “There is regular publicity about the health effects of alcohol and smoking, but little about the increasingly prevalent modifiable lifestyle trend of energy drink (ED) consumption.”
They declared, “While the current evidence is not conclusive, given the accumulating literature, the high morbidity and mortality associated with stroke and CVD and the well-documented adverse health effects of high-sugar drinks, we propose that increased regulation of ED sales and advertising campaigns could be beneficial to the future stroke and cardiovascular health of our society.
In an effort to combat obesity, diabetes, and tooth decay, major U.K. supermarkets voluntarily banned the sale of energy drinks to minors in 2018. However, the potential increased risks of energy drinks for cardiovascular disease, including ischaemic and haemorrhagic strokes, have received less attention.
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