A recent study found that although energy drinks give you energy boost, they can also cause serious heart problems. Researchers explain that drinking energy drinks can raise your blood pressure to unhealthy levels, especially in young adults who aren’t used to consuming caffeine.
The research team gave a can of energy drink to 25 volunteers aged 19-40. The other day, the volunteers were given to drink the same amount of placebo drink. The research team measured the volunteers’ blood pressure and heart rate before and after the drinks.
All volunteers had an increased blood pressure after drinking the energy drink. Their average systolic blood pressure was increased by 3%.
The effect was more serious in volunteers that didn’t consume caffeine on daily bases.
“In the so-called “caffeine-naive” group, the blood pressure increase was twice as high as the increase seen in the people who drank at least the equivalent of a cup of coffee on a daily basis,” explain the researchers.
Professor Sachin Shah from the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California explains that even a small blood pressure increase can have serious consequences.
“An acute, moderate increase in blood pressure is typically not a cause of worry in healthy subjects. On the other hand, in older people or those with hypertension even a moderate increase may be a cause for concern. An increase of three or four points on a systolic blood pressure reading could mean a significant increase in deaths from stroke,” explains Professor Shah.
In another study, volunteers had a greater blood pressure increase after consuming an energy drink compared to after drinking a coffee that had the same amount of caffeine as the energy drink. That’s the reason why many researchers think caffeine is not the reason behind the increased blood pressure but other ingredients found in energy drinks.