Energy drinks may lead to serious health consequences

Energy drinks can boost alertness, but many may worsen health issues or require emergency care.

A U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration report found energy drink ER visits more than doubled from 2007-2011. Visits increased from roughly 10,000 to nearly 21,000.

In 2011, 58% of these visits involved energy drinks alone, while 42% also included drug or alcohol use. Most of these cases involved teens or young adults. However, there was a clear increase in ER visits among people 40 and older after consuming energy drinks.

Reported symptoms ranged from insomnia, nervousness, headaches and fast heartbeats to seizures. In the past three months, Sean Sue, M.D., an emergency medicine physician at Piedmont Atlanta Hospital, treated two patients. Both had heart palpitations after consuming multiple energy drinks. In addition, Dr. Sue also noted that a young woman who visited the ER late last year reported drinking four energy drinks a day. She went into cardiac arrest while in the ER, but was immediately treated by the Piedmont Atlanta emergency department team and survived.

Dr. Sue said all energy drink–related cases he has treated involved patients in their twenties. “Some of these drinks contain a great deal of sugar, although now there are some that have less sugar or are low carb, but people don’t realize that some of these drinks have more stimulants than just caffeine,” Dr. Sue said.

But Dr. Sue said energy drinks are not necessarily evil, especially consumed in moderation. He said most hospital visits after energy drink use are due to underlying health issues worsened by excessive stimulants. “People who are young and otherwise healthy who drink energy drinks in moderation - meaning no more than one drink a day - won’t experience long-term health issues due to energy drinks,” Dr. Sue said. “But patients who are hypertensive or have heart irregularities, when they take stimulants, they get more palpitations. So energy drinks may not cause the problem, but rather add to a health condition you may not be aware you have.”

Dr. Sue said he used to drink one energy drink daily for over four years but quit completely after developing hypertension. “I totally cut out caffeine due to elevated blood pressure,” Dr. Sue said. “But even the different types of energy drinks can have different effects. I could drink a Monster energy drink, no problem, but when I took a 5-Hour Energy Shot, I felt flushed and my heart began racing. There’s just so much concentrated stimulants put into your body at one time. It’s similar to taking a shot of liquor versus sipping on a mixed drink over an hour.”

Dr. Sue advises avoiding mixing alcohol with energy drinks, such as vodka and Red Bull. “When you mix an energy drink with alcohol, you’re getting a stimulant and a depressant,” Dr. Sue explained. “So it falsely gives you the sense that you’re less drunk. If you have three drinks without any stimulants, you might feel inebriated. But when you add an energy drink to those drinks, since it’s a stimulant, it counteracts the effects of alcohol, so you aren’t aware that you are as inebriated as you actually are.”

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