A recent study analyzed the link between energy drink consumption and sudden cardiac arrest in patients with genetic heart diseases, focusing on 144 survivors, with 5% having consumed energy drinks prior to their event. Despite lacking direct causation evidence, the study, accompanied by expert commentary, warns of the potential risks due to the high caffeine content and unregulated ingredients in energy drinks.
Lead investigator of the study Michael J. Ackerman, MD, PhD, Genetic Cardiologist at Mayo Clinic and Director of the Mayo Clinic Windland Smith Rice Sudden Death Genomics Laboratory in Rochester, MN, says, “The energy drink market in the United States has been growing consistently over the past few years, raising concerns about the potential combined effects of caffeine consumption and additional unregulated ingredients in these beverages.
Dr. Ackerman explains, “While there seemed to be a temporal relationship between energy drink consumption and the seven patients’ sudden cardiac arrest event, a myriad of potential ‘agitators’ that could have also contributed to a genetic heart disease-associated arrhythmia occurred, like sleep deprivation, dehydration, dieting or extreme fasting, concomitant use of QT-prolonging drugs, or the postpartum period.