In a previous article there was news about how Energy Drinks Mask Alcohol Intoxication but now researchers are saying that it might also increase blood pressure and heart rate.
Researchers at Wayne State University found that energy drinks could pose serious health risks to people with hypertension (high blood pressure) and heart disease. They found that drinking two cans of an energy drink raised blood pressure and heart rate in 15 healthy adults with an average age of 26.
Volunteers in the study were found to have increased systolic blood pressure by 9.6 percent and a diastolic blood pressure increase of 7.8 percent within a few hours of having consumed the energy drinks. Heart rate in the volunteers increased by as much as 11 percent.
"This occurred while participants were sitting in chairs watching movies," study leader James Kalus noted in a prepared statement. "The increase in heart rate and blood pressure weren't enough for something to happen acutely, but a person on hypertension medication or who has a cardiovascular disease may not respond as well."
Kalus also noted that most energy drinks contain high levels of caffeine and taurine which both have been shown to have effects on blood pressure and heart function which may impact the blood pressure or medication of people who already have hypertension or heart disease.
[Source: MedlinePlus]
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