Too many energy drinks could send blood pressure soaring to danger levels, medics say

CITY DOCTORS CITE CASE OF MAN WHO HAD STROKE AFTER DOWNING EIGHT CANS A DAY

- By JANE KIRBY, PA

CONSUMING too many energy drinks may lead to a stroke, doctors in Nottingham have suggested.

The drinks, which contain high levels of caffeine and other ingredients, could push up blood pressure, which is known to increase the risk of stroke, they said.

Doctors from Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust told of how they treated a normally fit and healthy man in his 50s for a stroke, which caused sudden weakness on his left side as well as unsteadiness and issues with swallowing and speech.

An MRI scan confirmed he had suffered an ischaemic type of stroke, where small blood vessels become blocked.

At the point of him being admitted to hospital, his blood pressure reading was very high at 254/150mmHg.

The NHS advises that normal blood pressure is between 90/60mmHg and 120/80mmHg.

High blood pressure is considered to be 135/85 or higher if the reading was taken at home, or 140/90mmHg or higher if the reading was taken at a pharmacy, GP surgery or clinic.

Writing in the journal BMJ Case Reports, the doctors explained how in hospital the man was started on drugs to lower his blood pressure, which worked temporarily.