Energy drinks 'could trigger cardiac arrest'

People with high blood pressure or heart problems should be careful about consuming 'energy drinks' as they could trigger cardiac arrest, doctors warn. The drinks, which often contain large amounts of caffeine and other stimulants like taurine, raise blood pressure and could raise the chance of having an irregular heartbeat, they concluded after looking at results from seven studies. The US doctors said the evidence energy drinks raised blood pressure was "convincing and concerning". Specifically, they found energy drinks raised systolic blood pressure by 3.5 points. It also lengthened a phase of the heart's electrical cycle called the 'QT interval'. Having a long QT interval is a sign a person is at greater risk of suffering from an irregular heartbeat, which can be fatal. They concluded that drinking one to three cans raised the QT interval by 10 milliseconds. Professor Sachin Shah from the University of the Pacific in California, said: "Doctors are generally concerned if patients experience an additional 30 milliseconds in their QT interval from baseline."

Cardiac patients should shun energy drinks

People who have high blood pressure or heart disease should avoid consuming energy drinks, according to a Henry Ford Hospital study to be published online Wednesday in the Annals of Pharmacotherapy. Researchers found that healthy adults who drank two cans a day of a popular energy drink experienced an increase in their blood pressure and heart rate. No significant changes in EKG measurements were reported. The increases in blood pressure and heart rate were insignificant for healthy adults, but could prove harmful to people with a heart-related condition, says James Kalus, Pharm.D., senior manager of Patient Care Services at Henry Ford Hospital and lead author of the study. - newsmax.com