Energy Drink May Raise Stroke Risk

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Susan BAV

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Energy Drink May Raise Stroke Risk - Editing by David Fogarty - 2008-08-14 - Reuters

CANBERRA (Aug. 15) - Just one can of the popular stimulant energy drink Red Bull can increase the risk of heart attack or stroke, even in young people, Australian medical researchers said on Friday.

The caffeine-loaded beverage, popular with university students and adrenaline sport fans to give them "wings," caused the blood to become sticky, a pre-cursor to cardiovascular problems such as stroke.

"One hour after they drank Red Bull, (their blood systems) were no longer normal. They were abnormal like we would expect in a patient with cardiovascular disease," Scott Willoughby, lead researcher from the Cardiovascular Research Centre at the Royal Adelaide Hospital, told the Australian newspaper.

Red Bull Australia spokeswoman Linda Rychter said the report would be assessed by the company's head office in Austria.

"The study does not show effects which would go beyond that of drinking a cup of coffee. Therefore, the reported results were to be expected and lie within the normal physiological range," Rychter told Reuters.

Willoughby and his team tested the cardiovascular systems of 30 young adults one hour before and one hour after consuming one 250ml can of sugar-free Red Bull.

The results showed "normal people develop symptoms normally associated with cardiovascular disease" after consuming the drink, created in the 1980s by Austrian entrepreneur Dietrich Mateschitz based on a similar Thai energy drink.

Red Bull is banned in Norway, Uruguay and Denmark because of health risks listed on its cans, but the company last year sold 3.5 billion cans in 143 countries. One can contains 80 mg of caffeine, around the same as a normal cup of brewed coffee.

The Austria-based company, whose marketing says "Red Bull gives you wings," sponsors Formula 1 race cars and extreme sport events around the world, but warns consumers not to drink more than two cans a day.

Rychter said Red Bull could only have such global sales because health authorities across the world had concluded the drink was safe to consume.

But Willoughby said Red Bull could be deadly when combined with stress or high blood pressure, impairing proper blood vessel function and possibly lifting the risk of blood clotting.

"If you have any predisposition to cardiovascular disease, I'd think twice about drinking it," he said.
 
This article doesn't make sense. It says that Red Bull has the same amount of caffeine as a typical cup of coffee. Since a typical cup of coffee does not turn college students into heart patients, what ingredient in Red Bull DOES cause cardiovascular disease symptoms?
 
All I know is, I went to a popular nightclub around here when I just turned 21 and someone suggested I try a "jager bomb", and I loved them. They're delicious - you can't even tell there's alcohol in them. So 5 Jager Bombs later, my heart was doing backflips and I left feeling like I was in the middle of a marathon. I was very .... uncomfortable. 5 jager bombs is about 2 cans of red bull.

I'll never, ever in my life do something so stupid again. Some people can handle caffeine, I just can't. I know for a fact that caffeine puts some people at higher risk for sudden cardiac death, but I can't cite any research articles. I read a story about a younger guy with WPW syndrome who had a Dr. Pepper and went in to v-fib.
 
This article doesn't make sense. It says that Red Bull has the same amount of caffeine as a typical cup of coffee. Since a typical cup of coffee does not turn college students into heart patients, what ingredient in Red Bull DOES cause cardiovascular disease symptoms?
I looked on the Red Bull site and there is a list of ingredients for the sugar-free version that the article references and also their regular version.

But the article doesn't specifically address which ingredient(s), or combination of such, may cause the issue contributing to the "sticky blood," does it, just stating the company's printed warning of not consuming more than two cans a day?
 
They wouldnt be obliged to warn us about this stuff if there wasnt any possible danger in it right?!...

My boys have been instructed never to drink this stuff because of their "special" hearts...hopefully they will listen and obey. This stuff scares me.
 
I may be wrong, but I think the glucuronolactone is the reason.

How much should be taken?
Are there any side effects?

Strictly adhere to label instructions.

Glucuronolactone is not available over-the-counter in Canada, England, Germany and France.
 

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