A 53-year-old father who had a heart attack after drinking between eight and 12 cans of energy beverage every day for a year has spoken out about his experiences, issuing a warning over what he described as “dangerous” drinks.
Lee Kamen, a pub owner in Hull, in northern England, told Hull Live how he had collapsed after suffering the heart attack in 2017, at the age of 49.
“I was on eight to 12 a day at the time, I was drinking Red Bull and Monster, I used to go to Makro [a wholesalers] for the pub and would buy cases of 24 cans and just drink them like any other drink,” Kamen told Hull Live. “I was working a lot and drank them to keep me going. This probably went on for about a year.”
“One day I collapsed with a heart attack and had to have a stent fitted, I am now on medication for life due to those dangerous drinks. When I was in hospital after the heart attack, the doctor told me the energy drink consumption was the cause. I didn’t have a clue there was anything wrong with drinking them until then.”
Kamen decided to speak out about the risks of drinking excessive amounts of energy beverages after his 10-year-old daughter came out of school with a can of Monster in her hand.
“I took it straight off her and poured it straight down the drain,” he said.
Kamen said the drinks should be banned, urging shop owners not to sell them to under-16s.
“Shops should not be selling them to kids. Large supermarkets won’t, and the smaller shops need to do the same.”
Kamen contacted his daughter’s school after finding out that she had purchased the drink from a nearby shop. The school then reached out to parents, reminding them that children should not be consuming the drinks, which are high in caffeine and sugar, because they can have an impact on their behavior and physical health.
There are mounting concerns about the potential cardiovascular dangers of excessive energy drink consumption.
Earlier this year, a case study was published in the journal BMJ Case Reports detailing how a 21-year-old man had suffered heart failure after drinking four energy drink cans every day for around two years.
The authors of the case study reported that the man suffered from biventricular heart failure—where both sides of the heart are affected—potentially related to excessive energy drink consumption.
The patient eventually ended up in intensive care after experiencing four months of shortness of breath on exertion, breathlessness while lying down, and weight loss.
Several other cases have been documented involving individuals who developed heart problems that may have been related to the consumption of energy drinks.
These products are growing in popularity around the world, but the impact of excessive and chronic consumption on the cardiovascular system remains poorly understood.
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