Red Bulls and Others could hurt your heart

[TCD619]

It took them this long to figure this out?




The increasingly popular high-caffeine beverages called energy drinks may do more than give people a jolt of energy -- they may also boost heart rates and blood pressure levels, researchers said on Tuesday.


The results of a small study prompted the researchers to advise people who have high blood pressure or heart disease to avoid energy drinks because they could impact their blood pressure or change the effectiveness of their medications.

The drinks generally have high levels of caffeine and taurine, an amino acid found in protein-rich foods like meat and fish that can affect heart function and blood pressure, the researchers said.

"We saw increases in both blood pressure and heart rate in healthy volunteers who were just sitting in a chair watching movies. They weren't exercising. They were in a resting state," James Kalus of Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, who led the study, said in an interview.

The increases did not rise to dangerous levels in the group of 15 healthy volunteers, whose average age was 26, the researchers said.

But the increases potentially could be significant in people with cardiovascular disease or those taking drugs to lower heart rate or blood pressure, they told a meeting of the American Heart Association in Orlando, Florida.

"While the amount of caffeine in energy drinks or coffee may cause a slight and temporary increase in blood pressure, it would have no greater effect than walking up a flight of steps," the American Beverage Association industry trade group said in a statement responding to the findings.

"So singling out energy drinks in a unique manner, particularly when compared to a more commonly consumed caffeinated beverage like coffee, does not provide a full and proper context for consumers."

BOOSTING ENERGY

The products have names like Full Throttle, Amp and Rush. Red Bull, made by Austrian company Red Bull GmbH, is a market leader. Beverage companies market various energy drinks as soft drinks that can boost a person's energy.

Kalus declined to say which brand of energy drink was used in the study. He said the drinks generally contain similar ingredients, adding, "By giving the brand, it would dilute the message that all of these drinks need to be looked at."

Coca-Cola Co. makes Full Throttle.

The study participants were asked not to consume other forms of caffeine for two days before starting the study and then throughout a study in which they consumed two cans of energy drinks daily over seven days. Each can contained 80 milligrams of caffeine and 1,000 milligrams of taurine.

The volunteers' heart rates rose by about 8 percent on the first day and 11 percent on the seventh day.

Maximum systolic blood pressure -- the top number in blood pressure readings that represents pressure while the heart contracts -- rose by 8 percent on the first day and 10 percent on the seventh day, the study showed.

Diastolic blood pressure -- the bottom number that gives the pressure when the heart relaxes between beats -- rose by 7 percent on the first day and 8 percent on the seventh day.

The study did not identify ingredients responsible for the changes, but Kalus said it probably was caffeine and taurine.

Kalus said the study did not address possible health effects from the way some people consume these drinks, such as mixing them with alcohol.

[Back Country]

They already knew bro

Anything with that much caffeine fu*ks with your heart

When I was drinking I used to do llegar bombs and my heart would be racing for a solid 3-4 minutes.

Its a possibility they did not know the extent of it, but they no doubt knew there were negative effects.

Pretty f*cked up yea?

[amhlilhaus]

this is shocking, never would have guessed it.

some lawyers now are looking for victims of this terrible tragedy.

[Romanowski]

Originally Posted by amhlilhaus

this is shocking, never would have guessed it.

some lawyers now are looking for victims of this terrible tragedy.

lmao.

you mean its not chock full of vitamins

[uva3021]

never tried red bull

[rjb1816]

lol last time i was in vegas i was pounding redbull and vodkas at the blackjack table for at least 3 hours...after I left the table my heart felt like it was going to beat right out of my chest

[Chris46139]

Originally Posted by rjb1816

lol last time i was in vegas i was pounding redbull and vodkas at the blackjack table for at least 3 hours...after I left the table my heart felt like it was going to beat right out of my chest

I know the feeling, the last time we watched the UFC fights, I had to work at 5 that day. Now by the time the fights start its 10 here so I was pretty tired. Chugged 3 of those Amp drinks, I could not stop shaking for the rest of the night. I'll add that I'm not a coffee drinker and the soda I drink is usually caffeine free too

[iggs111]

lol, I drink at least 1 red bull a day, was actually pumped the gas station by my work had 2 for $4. I know the feeling rjb, when Im in vegas that's pretty much what I rock from 9am til 9am, I have heart problems as it is, but I dont care.

[darealist2]

red bull n jager

[iggs111]

Originally Posted by darrel77

red bull n jager

that was cool for me like 5 years ago, nothing but red and grey goose now.

[TCD619]

had 10 red bull and grey goose one night, thought i was gonna have a panic attack. it was nuts. stick to a sugar free red bull once every few weeks now.
its all in ur head

[Chris46139]

Originally Posted by tdiddy619

had 10 red bull and grey goose one night, thought i was gonna have a panic attack. it was nuts. stick to a sugar free red bull once every few weeks now.
its all in ur head

My brother will sit there on a Sunday and drink 4 cans between the start of the one o'clocks and dinner time I'm nervous enough just watching my games lose

[TCD619]

I used to drink at least 2 every morning after a long night of drinking. but like i said, its all mental. if you wanna be hyper, think it, and it'll happen.
I used to drink rockstar but they got old. tried em for 1st time in chicago in '05 when they were giving them out for free.