eMJA: Cardiac arrest in a young man following excess consumption of caffeinated “energy drinks”

Notable Cases

Cardiac arrest in a young man following excess consumption of caffeinated “energy drinks”

Adam J Berger and Kevin Alford

MJA 2009; 190 (1): 41-43

Clinical record

—

Discussion

—

Acknowledgements

—

Competing interests

—

Author details

—

References

An otherwise healthy 28-year-old man had a cardiac arrest after a day of motocross racing. He had consumed excessive amounts of a caffeinated “energy drink” throughout the day. We postulate that a combination of excessive ingestion of caffeine- and taurine-containing energy drinks and strenuous physical activity can produce myocardial ischaemia by inducing coronary vasospasm.

Clinical record

A 28-year-old male amateur motocross rider was admitted to Port Macquarie Base Hospital in August 2007 after having an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. He had collapsed shortly after participating in a motocross race. An off-duty paramedic and nurse had been on hand, and effective cardiopulmonary resuscitation was commenced promptly. Paramedics arrived after about 20 minutes of resuscitation.

NB: If you are registered with the eMJA, your username is the email address you have provided.
If you don't have a login, click here for subscription options. You will be prompted to create an account upon purchase.

AMA members can login using their AMA username and password.
If you don't know your AMA password, please contact the AMA on 02 6270 5400 or membership@ama.com.au, or try to retrieve your password at this address.

The Medical Journal of Australia eMJA

Username:
Password:

Password forgotten? Click here What is my username?