Abstract
The energy drink Red Bull (RB) has recently been shown to elevate resting blood pressure (BP) and double product (reflecting increased myocardial load). However, the extent to which these effects can be explained by the drink's caffeine and sugar content remains to be determined. We compared the cardiovascular impact of RB to those of a comparable amount of caffeine, and its sugar-free version in eight young healthy men. Participants attended four experimental sessions on separate days according to a placebo-controlled randomized crossover study design. Beat-to-beat hemodynamic measurements were made continuously for 30 min at baseline and for 2 h following ingestion of 355 mL of either (1) RB + placebo; (2) sugar-free RB + placebo; (3) water + 120 mg caffeine, or (4) water + placebo. RB, sugar-free RB, and water + caffeine increased BP equally (3–4 mmHg) in comparison to water + placebo (P < 0.001). RB increased heart rate, stroke volume, cardiac output, double product, and cardiac contractility, but decreased total peripheral resistance (TPR) (all P < 0.01), with no such changes observed following the other interventions. Conversely, sugar-free RB and water + caffeine both increased TPR in comparison to the water + placebo control (P < 0.05). While the impact of RB on BP is the same as that of a comparable quantity of caffeine, the increase occurs through different hemodynamic pathways with RB's effects primarily on cardiac parameters, while caffeine elicits primarily vascular effects. Additionally, the auxiliary components of RB (taurine, glucuronolactone, and B-group vitamins) do not appear to influence these pathways.
Highlights
Despite the increasing popularity and consumption of energy drinks worldwide (Heckman et al 2010), there has been surprisingly little robust investigation into their effects on the cardiovascular system
All the drink/caffeine combinations increased Mean arterial BP (MAP) in comparison to W + P (P < 0.001). These differences observed in both systolic BP (SBP) (P < 0.01) and diastolic BP (DBP) (P < 0.01), beginning approximately 30 min after ingestion, with peak changes observed between 50 and 70 min
To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study using beat-to-beat cardiovascular monitoring to compare the hemodynamic impact of Red Bull (RB) energy drink to those of a comparable amount of caffeine, ingested in either capsule form or as a Sugar-free Red Bull (sfRB)
Summary
Despite the increasing popularity and consumption of energy drinks worldwide (Heckman et al 2010), there has been surprisingly little robust investigation into their effects on the cardiovascular system. Beat-to-beat cardiovascular monitoring, we recently reported that, in young healthy subjects, the energy drink Red Bull (RB) elevates blood pressure (BP) and double product (DP) at rest – the latter reflecting increased myocardial load at rest (Grasser et al 2014b), and in response to a mental stress task (Grasser et al 2015). Such observed increases in response to a commercially- and readily available drink may have clinical importance in individuals with existing heart conditions, or in chronic energy drink consumers.
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