A British teen, who has suffered two miscarriages which she attributes to energy drinks, has taken to Facebook in a plea for others to not make the same mistakes she has.
18-year-old Dion Parratt shared images of herself wired up to a heart rate monitor, and claimed that her addiction to energy drinks has left her with a severe heart problem reports Daily Mail.
After having consumed five cans a day since she was 11, the teen wrote –
“This is what happens when you spend your childhood drinking energy drinks.
“I’m now stuck with wires and a massive box attached to me for 24 hours.
“Before you drink cheap energy drinks think again about what you’re doing to your body.
“And anyone who is a parent, don’t let your kids drink them, they should be banned.”
Parratt claims her heart issue was diagnosed after the drinks triggered two miscarriages and is now presenting with low blood pressure and a falling pulse that causes her to pass out.
Energy drinks, filled with caffeine, are a stimulant and have long been known to cause palpitations and racing heart rate according to Dr Graham Jackson, honorary consultant cardiologist at St Thomas’ Hospital, so they are not as likely cause.
He said: “She probably had an underlying heart problem that was discovered when she went to the doctor about heart palpitations.
“Now they are monitoring her for what is causing her pulse to stop. They are probably trying to find out what the underlying problem is.”
He added that drinking two cans of energy drink a day is ‘dangerous’ as this could equate to around 800mg of caffeine.
“Up to 400mg is the safe level. Any more than that and you might get heart palpitations.
“You could get caffeine withdrawal symptoms when you stop – feeling shaky, feeling awful.”
Whether the energy drinks are the cause of her issues, or a trigger for discovering underlying problems, no one is denying that a five-a-day habit could be nothing but detrimental to a young body.
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