Randomized Controlled Trial of High-Volume Energy Drink Versus Caffeine Consumption on ECG and Hemodynamic Parameters
Fletcher EA, Lacey CS, Aaron M, Kolasa M, Occiano A, Shah SA
Journal of the American Heart Association · 53 citations
How it was studied
- Design
- Randomized controlled trial (indexed by PubMed)
- Studied in
- People
- Main outcome
- Health markers and function
Who paid for it
- Funding
- Independent funding
- Government
- U.S. Department of Defense
Based on 1 listed funder(s) and full-text disclosure statement.
Publication
- Published
- 2017-04-26 · J Am Heart Assoc · vol. 6 · issue 5
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Cited
- 97 citations · more than 97% of similar papers · 6.0× the field average
- Impact
- Top 10% most cited in its field
- References
- 42 works
- Access
- Open access (journal) · CC-BY-NC
- Research areas
- Coffee research and impacts · Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research · Pharmacology and Obesity Treatment
- Keywords
- Medicine, Caffeine, Blood pressure, Crossover study, Heart rate, Diastole, Cardiology, QT interval, Anesthesia, Hemodynamics, Internal medicine, Placebo
- MeSH
- heart conduction system, humans, caffeine, central nervous system stimulants, electrocardiography, risk assessment, cross-over studies, double-blind method, predictive value of tests, blood pressure, heart rate, time factors, adolescent, adult, female, male, arrhythmias, cardiac, hemodynamics, young adult, energy drinks
6 authors
From US
- Emily A. FletcherGrant Medical Center
- Carolyn S. LaceyGrant Medical Center
- Melenie AaronGrant Medical Center
- Mark W. KolasaGrant Medical Center
- Andrew OccianoUniversity of the Pacific
- Sachin A. ShahUniversity of the Pacific; Grant Medical Center
Abstract
Background
Caffeine in doses <400 mg is typically not considered arrhythmogenic, but little is known about the additional ingredients in energy drinks. We evaluated the ECG and blood pressure (BP) effects of high-volume energy drink consumption compared with caffeine alone.
Methods and results
This was a randomized, double-blind, controlled, crossover study in 18 young, healthy volunteers. Participants consumed either 946 mL (32 ounces) of energy drink or caffeinated control drink, both of which contained 320 mg of caffeine, separated by a 6-day washout period. ECG, peripheral BP, and central BP measurements were obtained at baseline and 1, 2, 4, 6, and 24 hours post study drink consumption. The time-matched, baseline-adjusted changes were compared. The change in corrected QT interval from baseline in the energy drink arm was significantly higher than the caffeine arm at 2 hours (0.44±18.4 ms versus -10.4±14.8 ms, respectively; P=0.02). The QTc changes were not different at other time points. While both the energy drink and caffeine arms raised systolic BP in a similar fashion initially, the systolic BP was significantly higher at 6 hours when compared with the caffeine arm (4.72±4.67 mm Hg versus 0.83±6.09 mm Hg, respectively; P=0.01). Heart rate, diastolic BP, central systolic BP, and central diastolic BP showed no evidence of a difference between groups at any time point. Post energy drink, augmentation index was lower at 6 hours.
Conclusions
The corrected QT interval and systolic BP were significantly higher post high-volume energy drink consumption when compared with caffeine alone. Larger clinical trials validating these findings and evaluation of noncaffeine ingredients within energy drinks are warranted.
Clinical trial registration
URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT02023723.
Abstract via Europe PMC. Copyright remains with the authors or publisher (CC BY-NC).
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