Student’s heart failure potentially linked to energy drinks

A 21-YEAR-OLD university student developed heart failure after “excessive” consumption of energy drinks, a new article in a leading medical journal suggests.

The man drank four 500ml energy drinks a day for two years before he needed hospital treatment for heart failure, according to a new BMJ Case Report.

The student required intensive care treatment and was so ill that medics were considering whether he needed an organ transplant.

Blood tests, scans and ECG readings revealed he had both heart and kidney failure – with the latter linked to a long-standing and previously undiagnosed condition.

“We report a case of severe biventricular heart failure potentially related to excessive energy drink consumption in a 21-year-old man,” wrote the authors, from Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust.

They said the man had no medical history other than excessive intake of energy drinks – highlighting that each can the man was drinking contained 160mg of caffeine.

The doctors treating him considered a number of diagnoses, but concluded: “Energy drinkinduced cardiotoxicity was felt to be the most likely cause.”

The authors said that in the three months prior to his hospital admission, the man was unable to continue his university studies due to his lethargy and ill-health.

He spent 58 days in hospital, including a stint on the intensive care unit, which he described as “traumatising”.

After nine months his heart function has appeared to have returned with “mildly impaired function”, they said.

It comes after a separate study, published in the journal Plos One, highlighted energy drink intake among teenagers.

Academics at Cardiff University analysed the responses of a health survey of more than 176,000 secondary school children in Wales aged 11-16.

The data, drawn from responses between 2013-17, show that 6% of pupils said they drank energy drinks on a “daily” basis – a trend which didn’t change over time.

Study lead author Dr Kelly Morgan said: “The daily use of energy drinks among a proportion of young people has not declined – and our study reveals a widening disparity in consumption rates between those from low and high socioeconomic groups.

“Marketing campaigns for energy drinks are often aimed at those from more disadvantaged backgrounds. They are also an affordable choice and regularly available at cheaper prices than bottles of water.

“Their popularity is unlikely to wane unless legislative and policy measures are put in place.”