Heart Function Improvable via Energy Drink Intake

For many years, doctors have warned that consuming energy drinks could lead to heart problems. Now, a team of experts at the University of Siena, in Italy, says that myocardial performance can actually be improved when people consume these beverages.

In a new study, the team learned that consuming energy drinks induces a light increase in diastolic blood pressure, while at the same time stimulating the release of calcium from the sacroplasmatic reticulum, via taurine.

The functions of the left and right ventricles were found to have improved to some extent one hour after test subjects consumed energy drinks. From these data, the team determined that consuming these beverages improves myocardial function, Science Blog reports.

“This could be explained by the inotropic effect of taurine that, as previously demonstrated, stimulates the release of calcium from the sarcoplasmic reticulum,” the team concludes.