As reported on the Healthday.com website, recent MRI studies conducted by German researchers indicate that energy drinks create additional strain on the heart by causing it contract more rapidly than usual. The study raises concerns that energy drinks might be bad for the heart, particularly for people who already have heart disease.

According to the study, healthy people who drank energy drinks high in caffeine and taurine experienced significantly increased heart contraction rates an hour later. Taurine is an amino acid that plays a number of key roles in the body and is believed to enhance athletic performance. Caffeine is the natural stimulant that gives coffee its kick.

The participants were given an energy drink contained 400 milligrams of taurine and 32 milligrams of caffeine per 100 milliliters of liquid (about 3.4 ounces). The 18 healthy participants were given magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans to measure their heart function before and one hour after they consumed an energy drink. Participants experienced a 6 percent increase in their heart contraction after downing the energy drink.

The study’s authors expressed concern that the energy drinks could potentially lead to adverse cardiovascular effects such as irregular heartbeat. From 2007 to 2011, the number of emergency room visits related to energy drinks nearly doubled in the United States, rising from slightly more than 10,000 to nearly 21,000 according to a news release from the study’s presentation meeting.  Most of the cases involved young adults aged 18 to 25, followed by people aged 26 to 39.

Results of this study are considered preliminary until it is peer-reviewed. To learn more about the study, visit the Healthday.com website.

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