Energy drinks and teens coming to ER with chest pain

Specialties Emergency

Published

I have seen an unreal amount of teen-young 20ish patients coming to the ER c/o severe chest pain after drinking 1-2 energy drinks. All have been negative on drug/alcohol screens and cardiac workups are also negative. I've never had an energy drink (I'll stick with coffee) so I can't relate to what these drinks do. We end up giving them antianxiety meds and d/c them home.

Anyone else seeing this?

Specializes in retired LTC.

to Leo - I'm getting tachycardic just reading the numbers :uhoh21:! Please, I really don't understand why someone would tach up (by drinking the stuff) pre - workout. Your HR goes up with exercise anyway, so why??? I'm sincere as I ask this...

You're talking to a confirmed, card-carrying couch potato so I really don't understand you exercise buffs.

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Just did a quick google of energy drinks' ingredients---high high levels of caffeine and sugar also. B vitamins (think niacin) and various herbals (careful!) too. And a bunch of other things... No wonder they get all speeded up and bounce around!

Was talking caffeine beverages with some students once. Hadn't heard of Jolt soda and it wasn't sold in my area. One of the kids brought me in a can as I was a coffee-holic and I liked Mt Dew too. I was teaching and I do talk quickly at times. But all of sudden, I noticed a difference and asked the kids 'am I talking real fast'?!?! What a caffeine rush! I should have been paid by the word, not by the hour!!! Only had about 90 cc, but boy, did I feel it!!!Don't do much REGULAR caffeine anymore.

For me it's different. I have ADHD and when I drink a monster energy I swear it actually helps me focus instead of making me hyper

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Specializes in ICU / PCU / Telemetry / Oncology.

I am caffeine sensitive to begin with, and I never have more than one cup of regular coffee at a time (sometimes I even do 50 decaf/50 reg if I am not sure of the strength). I think one of those energy drinks might just throw me into eternal sinus tach! NEVER will ever try them!

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Specializes in retired LTC.

to storm - it's funny but I did think about you all with ADD/ADHD and how the drinks might work.

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Actually had one of these come in tonight. Wasn't my patient, but told about her. Drank a 5 hour energy shot and a Monster, had resps of 60, pulse of like 130-140. I'm all for people being able to put whatever they want to in their bodies (I'm libertarian like that), but if we're going to dispense drinks that can have the same cardiovascular effects as amphetamines, I think we need to modify the age of the people we dispense it to. Kids shouldn't be shoving this crap in their bodies. You don't need "energy" when you're 16.

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I'm a new ICU nurse, but some of the nurses I work with told me about a 19 year old girl who came into our ER with arrhythmias from drinking several Monster drinks a day. They coded her twice and she came to ICU with anoxic brain energy. She was discharged to a LTC facility :/ So sad.

oh my God that is horrible! She didn't have anything else going on? Like a congenital heart defect or something? It just doesn't seem like that could happen to a young healthy person just from drinking too many Monsters!

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Specializes in nursing education.
It just doesn't seem like that could happen to a young healthy person just from drinking too many Monsters!

That is what many people think. "It's all natural!"

However, nurses' collective anecdotal evidence shows otherwise. Have studies been done? Seems like the FDA believes the stuff is safe for all ages...

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Teens have a BIG problem with these energy drinks. They see their friends chugging these massive cans of sugar and caffeine and think "Ohhhhh they are soooo cool! If I do that I'll be cool too". I'd never drink a can of death! Red Bull will indeed give you wings! The government should regulate this in some way...maybe a can that is in serving size portions (not a gargantuan amount that could kill a cow).

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Specializes in LTC.
Teens have a BIG problem with these energy drinks. They see their friends chugging these massive cans of sugar and caffeine and think "Ohhhhh they are soooo cool! If I do that I'll be cool too". I'd never drink a can of death! Red Bull will indeed give you wings! The government should regulate this in some way...maybe a can that is in serving size portions (not a gargantuan amount that could kill a cow).

They already did. "FourLoco" had to redo their formula or something- it was an alcohol/energy drink that some people had issues with.

They shouldn't regulate caffine though- people need to be able to make their own choices, no matter how stupid they may be.

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Alcohol + stimulants is a very dangerous combination, which is why Four Loko and other similar drinks in their original formulation were banned in the U.S. They were being marketed to young people, and were very popular on college campuses, and their use led to a lot of alcohol poisoning incidents.

* * * *

Pediatricians Warn of Energy Drink Risks (Food Safety News, 18 Feb. 2011)

If you click on the link to the research paper cited in the FSN article, it will download as a PDF.

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They already did. "FourLoco" had to redo their formula or something- it was an alcohol/energy drink that some people had issues with.

They shouldn't regulate caffine though- people need to be able to make their own choices, no matter how stupid they may be.

I don't see how you consider the reformulation of 4Lokos as the government already having done their job regarding energy drinks. 4Loko is only one of the many alcoholic/malt liquor mixed drinks available at your local 7-11s. Ever seen a Goose, Tilt, or a Sparks?? They are targeted directly at teens and come in flavors like blue raspberry and watermelon screaming out for a 16 year old to chug. Government hadn't done a thing about that. The only reason they changed 4Lokos was because of the "16 Loko challenge" that people were doing and ending up hospitalized for

Regardless if people have the right to put whatever garbage they want into their body (and I agree that they do have that right) the warning should also be listed on the product so people know the risks. Most average people do not believe that these products are bad for them and don't know better. They see words like "sugar-free" and "vitamins" on the triple portion sized can and feel good about chugging the crap. I've seen elementary school kids drink this stuff, if tobacco is 18+ then energy drinks should be too!

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Specializes in CNA, Nursing Student.

That is what many people think. "It's all natural!"

.

I shudder every time I hear that quote. "it's all natural so it must be good for you" to which I respond, so is snakebite venom. Doesn't mean I want it in me.

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