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It’s not just high levels of caffeine. Today’s energy drinks also contain blood pressure boosting ingredients such as the amino acid taurine, Munshi said.
“Energy drinks that contain caffeine plus taurine produce significantly higher blood pressure than caffeine alone,” he said. “They also contain high levels of glucose — we know sugar damages the blood vessels in diabetes which leads to heart damage.”
Energy drinks also typically contain ginseng, which impacts metabolism, and guarana, a plant thought to contain caffeine at twice the concentration of a coffee bean, according to the study. Milder stimulants such as theophylline, found in cocoa, and theobromine, found in tea, are often included as well, Coyle said.
Such energy drinks can cause cardiac arrhythmias, damage the endothelium, the tissue that lines blood vessels, and aggregate blood platelets, Munshi said.
“When platelets are aggregated, especially in the setting of high glucose, they can produce blood clots,” he said. “Young people are often willing to try energy drinks, especially in combination with other drugs such as cocaine or methylamphetamine, which have similar effects, and all of these drugs together can cause havoc.”
Medical literature is full of examples of the harms of energy drinks, so this case, while startling, is not an isolated event, Munshi said.
“We have seen other patients who developed an irregular heartbeat, what we call atrial fibrillation,” he said.” Another patient developed an intracellular hemorrhage in the brain, while yet another patient had a stroke in the brain due to a blood clot.”
Munshi believes doctors need to become more aware of the impact of energy drinks and ask about use during regular checkups, “especially when people come at a younger age with cardiovascular problems or strokes.”
“The nature of these drinks is changing. They have become more and more dangerous and more potent,” he added. “We propose increased regulation of energy drink sales and advertising campaigns, which are often targeted at younger ages.”
