Anyone who has ever had a Red Bull knows that it “gives you wings” but do you know it may also be giving your a heart damage? Recently, it has been discovered in a study of 30 university students that the drink may cause “stickiness” of the blood which may increases one’s chances of blood clots.

Using tests to measure blood pressure and the state of blood vessels around the body, the Australian researchers said that after drinking one can participants had shown a cardiovascular profile similar to that of someone with heart disease.

Red Bull today emphatically denied that the drink, which is distributed to 143 countries worldwide, was dangerous. In a statement, it said that Red Bull had been proved safe by “numerous scientific studies”, and that it had never been banned from anywhere it had been introduced.

Previous studies have examined the effects of consuming Red Bull, one can of which contains 80mg of caffeine around the same as a cup of filter coffee and taurine, an amino acid commonly used in energy drinks.

Last year a research team from Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit presented a paper to the American Heart Association suggesting that energy drinks may boost heart rates and blood pressure levels. The results, from a small study, prompted them to warn against consumption by those with cardiovascular problems.

Red Bull has already been targeted as the possible villain of heart problems and even death:

Earlier this year a teenager from Darlington was sent to hospital after drinking eight cans of Red Bull. Paramedics reported that the 15-year-old suffered heart palpitations.

The high levels of caffeine in Red Bull was suspected to be a contributing factor in the death of a 40-year-old man in Oxford who suffered a fatal heart attack in April after collapsing at an Asda store where he worked. In 2007 an 18-year-old British basketballer died after consuming three cans of the drink, and in July 2001 and 33-year-old Australian man died of a heart attack after drinking a pitcher of Red Bull and vodka.

Source: Timesonline.co.uk

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