A prominent Sydney cardiologist has called for greater caution with the purchase of energy drinks, warning they can trigger heart-attacks and other life-threatening conditions in young people.
Professor Chris Semsarian, based at Sydney's Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, said several of his adult patients were hospitalised in the past year with heart rhythm problems after consuming energy drinks.
He said the labels on such drinks should be made to include better health warnings.
He also believed the idea of restricting sales below a certain age should be considered.
"For example, the drinks should not be sold to anyone under the age of 12 unless accompanied by an adult," he said.
Prof. Semsarian told ninemsn energy drinks could cause two groups of heart-related problems.
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"The first is related to the electrical rhythm of the heart, whereby they can make the heart go faster, leading to very dangerous rhythms which can ultimately lead to sudden death," he said.
"They can also lead to problems with the blood flow in the heart and this can lead to blockages of arteries and heart attacks in the conventional sense."
The high caffeine content in popular beverages such as Red Bull, Mother and V, combined with additives such as Guarana or Taurine, is known to speed up the heart and raise blood pressure.
For someone with an underlying heart condition, this combination of ingredients could have a potentially lethal effect, Prof. Semsarian said.
"It's an especially dangerous situation where the patient or the young person doesn't know they have an underlying heart problem, they drink the energy drink and then it unmasks the problem."
Energy drinks already have labels warning consumers to drink in moderation. But Prof Semsarian said in some cases it only takes one or two beverages to trigger serious problems.
He is currently leading a study into genetic heart disease, particularly in the young.
His research team has observed situations in which energy drinks were the trigger for heart rhythm problems.
Last year alone Prof Semsarian treated about five patients with medical problems triggered by these beverages, including a 17-year-old girl hospitalised with an irregular heartbeat that could have led to a stroke or heart failure.
The girl, who had an underlying heart problem, was saved by intensive therapy.
Prof Semsarian said energy drinks could also trigger panic and anxiety disorders.
The Australian Beverage Council, a voice for the non-alcoholic beverage industry, told ninemsn energy drink companies were already heavily regulated.
Council chief executive Geoff Parker said: "There are warnings on labels that advise against certain susceptible members of the population or certain sections of the population consuming them, and that includes children [as well as pregnant women and anyone sensitive to caffeine]. There's also a recommended daily intake statement on there.
"You can't legislate or regulate for common sense … there will be a small percentage of the population that will have an adverse reaction to drinking too many energy drinks, or too much full cream milk or two much alcohol … but where do you stop?"
The council would not be in favour of an age restriction, he added.
"All energy drinks are clearly advertised to a specific section of the population, and that is males aged 18 to 24," he said.
Red Bull, Coca Cola (which produces Mother) and Frucor (which produces V) separately told ninemsn they followed the Beverage Council's marketing guidelines on energy drinks, including not advertising to children, not supplying drinks to schools and discouraging excessive consumption.
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