Downing large amounts of cola drinks may cause unusual symptoms
These include fainting, an irregular heartbeat, and weight gain
A case study was presented at the EHRA Europace 2013 meeting in Athens
Drinking excessive amounts of cola can cause people to faint or suffer an irregular heartbeat, reveals new research.
Researchers found downing large amounts of cola drinks can cause unusual fainting and symptoms of irregular heartbeat, also known as arrhythmia, as well as causing people to pile on the pounds.
A case study was presented at the EHRA Europace 2013 meeting in Athens.
A search revealed six other case studies where excessive cola consumption could be related to adverse medical conditions including rhabdomyolysis – damaged skeletal muscle tissue, arrhythmias, and even one death related to Torsades de pointes – a form of ventricular tachycardia that can degenerate into ventricular fibrillation.
There are two potential explanations for the connection between cola consumption and low blood potassium level, according to the researchers.Through osmotic principles the high fructose corn syrup content of cola is likely to prevent water from being absorbed by the gut and lead to people suffering from diarrhoea that is associated with heavy fluid losses that ‘flush’ potassium out of the body.
And caffeine in the cola is also likely to have an effect on the kidneys where it reduces the amount of potassium that is reabsorbed.
In the heart reduced extracellular potassium can inhibit the potassium current in ion channels and delay ventricular repolarisation that may in turn promote arrhythmias.
Doctor Zarqane said: ‘One of the take home messages is that cardiologists need to be aware of the connection between cola consumption and potassium loss and should ask patients found to have QT prolongation about beverage habits.’Prof Saoudi saidd: “It’s also important that the people are made aware of the potential health dangers of excessive consumption of sugary drinks.
‘There are important political messages for governments to ensure that bottled water is cheaper than sugary drinks, which is not always the case.’He said a further study would be helpful to explore whether there are differences in blood levels of potassium between people who had high cola intakes, and people who did not consume the drink.
And excessive drinking of cola and other sugary beverages is likely to have additional adverse cardiovascular effects.
Prof Saoudi added: ‘Due to the high calorie intake it’s likely to result in weight gain which increases the risk of developing metabolic syndrome.’
Researchers found downing large amounts of cola drinks can cause unusual fainting and symptoms of irregular heartbeat, also known as arrhythmia, as well as causing people to pile on the pounds.
A case study was presented at the EHRA Europace 2013 meeting in Athens.
A search revealed six other case studies where excessive cola consumption could be related to adverse medical conditions including rhabdomyolysis – damaged skeletal muscle tissue, arrhythmias, and even one death related to Torsades de pointes – a form of ventricular tachycardia that can degenerate into ventricular fibrillation.
There are two potential explanations for the connection between cola consumption and low blood potassium level, according to the researchers.Through osmotic principles the high fructose corn syrup content of cola is likely to prevent water from being absorbed by the gut and lead to people suffering from diarrhoea that is associated with heavy fluid losses that ‘flush’ potassium out of the body.
And caffeine in the cola is also likely to have an effect on the kidneys where it reduces the amount of potassium that is reabsorbed.
In the heart reduced extracellular potassium can inhibit the potassium current in ion channels and delay ventricular repolarisation that may in turn promote arrhythmias.
Doctor Zarqane said: ‘One of the take home messages is that cardiologists need to be aware of the connection between cola consumption and potassium loss and should ask patients found to have QT prolongation about beverage habits.’Prof Saoudi saidd: “It’s also important that the people are made aware of the potential health dangers of excessive consumption of sugary drinks.
‘There are important political messages for governments to ensure that bottled water is cheaper than sugary drinks, which is not always the case.’He said a further study would be helpful to explore whether there are differences in blood levels of potassium between people who had high cola intakes, and people who did not consume the drink.
And excessive drinking of cola and other sugary beverages is likely to have additional adverse cardiovascular effects.
Prof Saoudi added: ‘Due to the high calorie intake it’s likely to result in weight gain which increases the risk of developing metabolic syndrome.’
Source Article from http://worldtruth.tv/fizzy-drinks-can-cause-people-to-faint-or-suffer-an-irregular-heartbeat/
Views: 0