Resting Blood Pressure Higher In Those Who Do Not Drink Caffeine When Drinking Energy Beverages

Consuming caffeine drinks semi-regularly might not be a bad idea.

Research that will be presented March 14 at the American College of Cardiology's 64th Annual Scientific Session in San Diego shows that those who don't consume caffeine semi-regularly experienced a greater risk of rise in resting blood pressure after the consumption of a commercially available energy drink when compared to those who drank a placebo drink, raising concerns regarding the beverages' ability to increase the risk of cardiac issues.

For the study, researchers alternatively gave a can of a commercially available energy drink or a placebo to 25 healthy young adults who were between the ages of 19 to 40, assessing changes in heart rate and blood pressure.

Researchers recorded blood pressure and heart rate before and 30 minutes after energy drink/placebo drink consumption. Then they also compared caffeine-naïve participants (those consuming less than 160 mg of caffeine per day, the amount frequently found in a cup of coffee) and regular caffeine users (those consuming more than 160 mg of caffeine per day).

They experienced a marked raise in blood pressure following consuming the energy drink as compared to the placebo, with an effect that was most dramatic in people who did not typically consume as much caffeine. The effect was also found to be the most dramatic in those who did not typically consume much caffeine, according to researchers. Furthermore, blood pressure increase more than doubled in caffeine naïve adults after they had consumed the energy drink vs. a placebo type drink.

"We know that energy drink consumption is widespread and rising among young people. Concerns about the health safety of energy drinks have been raised. We and others have previously shown that energy drinks increase blood pressure," said lead author Anna Svatikova, M.D., Ph.D., cardiovascular diseases fellow at the Mayo Clinic, in a news release. "Now we are seeing that for those not used to caffeine, the concern may be even greater. Consumers should use caution when using energy drinks because they may increase the risk of cardiovascular problems, even among young people."