A 26-year-old Texas man is lucky to be alive after suffering a heart attack doctors believe was caused by his excessive energy drink consumption.
The unnamed man went to Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center at El Paso after having chest pains for nine hours. He also had pains down his left arm and in his jaw, as well as feeling nauseous.
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A report released by the hospital's emergency room said the man was generally healthy, but presented with symptoms of coronary artery disease (CAD) and ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), both of which are more common in older people.
The report said his vital signs were normal, but after a cardiac catheterisation, doctors found he had a blocked artery and had suffered a heart attack.
He told doctors he drank between eight and ten cans of energy drinks per day and chest pains often came on after that.
He said "he drank any kind of energy drink he could get access to."
Doctors believe his energy drink habit led to the blood clot to form, which led to the heart attack.
The report acknowledged there had been no major studies into heart problems caused by energy drinks, but said: "That vasospasm caused by excessive levels of caffeine, along with possible effects from other substances in energy drinks, reduced flow in the coronary vessel to such a degree that a thrombus was able to form."
The man experienced no further chest pain and was discharged after two days. He told doctors he would stop drinking energy drinks.
Newshub.
