Energy Drinks and Health Concerns

Transcript

I think energy drinks are a misnomer, because I’m not sure they give you much energy. But a lot of energy drinks have high caffeine and other content, and one of the problems with energy drinks is that the high caffeine content in certain patients can precipitate certain arrhythmias.

Not all people that take energy drinks will have arrhythmias, but people that are prone to having arrhythmias, because of the high caffeine content, could develop arrhythmias such as atrial fibrillation and other atrial and even ventricular arrhythmias, if they’re susceptible to it. And then some people actually take the energy drinks and mix them with alcohol. So a downer and an upper, where they don’t get the effect of the alcohol as immediately. And by the time they actually feel the alcohol, they are toxic and potentially in danger of a life threatening complication. So it’s really important not to mix caffeine and alcohol, and if possible, to try to avoid drinking excess caffeine, particularly those in energy drinks.