The top row
Drinking more than 67 ounces of sugary or artificially sweetened beverages a week may increase your risk of atrial fibrillation — an irregular heartbeat — but organic fruit juices with no added sugar may lower that risk, a new study suggests.
Soft drinks in glasses.
Matthew G Fisher
Basic elements
Participants who drank more than 67 ounces of artificially sweetened beverages per week—the equivalent of about one 12-ounce diet soda per day—had an increased risk of developing atrial fibrillation by about 20 percent, and those who drank the same amount of sugar-sweetened beverages had an increased risk 10%, according to an American Heart Association study published on Tuesday.
Atrial fibrillation (or AFib) is the most common form of irregular heartbeat, which causes the lower and upper chambers of the heart to be out of sync and reduce blood flow. according at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Study researchers followed nearly 202,000 participants—ranging in age from 37 to 73—over about 10 years and did genetic blood tests and found that the risk of atrial fibrillation was high in people who drank more than 67 ounces of sugar. – sugary drinks regardless of genetic susceptibility.
On the other hand, participants who drank about 34 ounces or less of pure fruit juice each week had an 8 percent lower risk of atrial fibrillation, the study also found.
Smoking may also increase the risk of atrial fibrillation, as those who drank more than 67 ounces of sugary drinks per week and smoked had a 31 percent higher risk of atrial fibrillation, compared with no significant increase in ex-smokers or participants who had never smoked before.
Crucial passage
“The findings of our study cannot definitively conclude that one beverage poses a greater health risk than another because of the complexity of our diets and because some people may drink more than one type of beverage,” lead author and researchers at Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine in. Shanghai, China, Ningjian Wong said in a statement. “However, based on these findings, we recommend that people reduce or even avoid artificially sweetened and sugar-sweetened beverages whenever possible.”
Big number
3 to 6 million. That’s how many people have atrial fibrillation in the United States, according to a separate AHA study. This number is expected to increase to 6 to 16 million people by 2050.
Key background
Although there isn’t much research on the link between sugary drinks and atrial fibrillation, about 16 percent of participants who consumed the artificial sweetener aspartame—often sold under the brand name Equal—experienced heart rate changes, according to study published in the International Journal of Cardiology. There are several risk factors for atrial fibrillation, including obesity, diabetes, heart failure, moderate to heavy alcoholism, hyperthyroidism, chronic kidney disease, and ischemic heart disease. However, the biggest factors are high blood pressure – which makes up approx one in five cases— and advancing in age. Although people of African descent are more prone to these risk factors, people of European descent are more likely to have AF than any other group, although scientists aren’t sure why, according to a JAMA Network Open. study. Symptoms of atrial fibrillation include fatigue, dizziness, confusion, a feeling of fluttering or pounding in the chest, fast or irregular heartbeat, weakness, anxiety, shortness of breath and tiredness during exercise. Chest pain or pressure are also symptoms, but are considered a medical emergency, according to the AHA.
Tangent line
Conflicting studies have been conducted on the relationship between caffeine consumption and AF. High amounts of caffeine in energy drinks, along with other ingredients such as a type of amino acid called taurine that enhances the effects of caffeine, increase the risk of atrial fibrillation, according to an American Society of Addiction. case study. However, a 2019 AHA study It found that drinking one to three cups of coffee a day had a slightly lower risk of atrial fibrillation compared to drinking four or more or no coffee at all. A special one study found that each cup of coffee a day reduces the risk of developing an arrhythmia (irregular heartbeat) by 3%. The American College of Cardiology believes that daily consumption of up to 300 milligrams caffeine should be safe for those with atrial fibrillation.
Further reading
What you need to know about aspartame: The sugar substitute in diet cola declared a possible cancer risk by the WHO (Forbes)
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