5-Hour Energy linked to heart attacks, 'spontaneous abortion'

[Hum]

Federal officials have received reports of 13 deaths over the last four years that cited the possible involvement of 5-Hour Energy, a highly caffeinated energy shot, according to Food and Drug Administration records and an interview with an agency official.

The disclosure of the reports is the second time in recent weeks that F.D.A. filings citing energy drinks and deaths have emerged. Last month, the agency acknowledged it had received five fatality filings mentioning another popular energy drink, Monster Energy.

Since 2009, 5-Hour Energy has been mentioned in some 90 filings with the F.D.A., including more than 30 that involved serious or life-threatening injuries like heart attacks, convulsions and, in one case, a spontaneous abortion, a summary of F.D.A. records reviewed by The New York Times showed.

The filing of an incident report with the F.D.A. does not mean that a product was responsible for a death or an injury or contributed in any way to it. Such reports can be fragmentary in nature and difficult to investigate.

The fast-growing energy drink industry is facing increasing scrutiny over issues like labeling disclosures and possible health risks. Some lawmakers are calling on the F.D.A. to increase its regulation of the products and the New York State attorney general is investigating the practices of several producers.

Unlike Red Bull, Monster Energy and some other energy drinks that look like beverages, 5-Hour Energy is sold in a two-ounce bottle referred to as a shot. The company does not disclose the amount of caffeine in each bottle, but a recent article published by Consumer Reports placed that level at about 215 milligrams.

An eight-ounce cup of coffee, depending on how it is made, can contain from 100 to 150 milligrams of caffeine.

more

[TheLegendOfMart]

Wow who'd have thought a massive dose of caffeine all at once could be a health risk?

Oh that's right, people with common sense.

[Kriz]

Glad i dont go near any energy drinks!

[moloko]

5 hour is not that bad. It is just a shot but I know for people not active or heart issues it could be bad.

[Asrokhel]

I know people who buy this, and it says no crashing, and maybe up to an hour after taking it, they start crashing.

[threetonesun]

Wow who'd have thought a massive dose of caffeine all at once could be a health risk?

Oh that's right, people with common sense.

It's a) not that much, and b) not that harmful. I imagine we'll find most of these claims either involved drinking multiple shots at once, or people with existing heart conditions.

But yes, common sense. You're supposed to limit your caffeine to nearly nothing when you're pregnant anyway.

[LaP]

Wow who'd have thought a massive dose of caffeine all at once could be a health risk?

Oh that's right, people with common sense.

Actually as a consumer i would expect food, beverages and other things sold in a supermarket to be safe for human consuption.

Now maybe i'm just stupid to think that it's just common sense to expect that.

[Hum]

^ I think all the stores care about is that you don't collapse in a few days. :laugh:

[Detection]

I went through a phase of drinking energy shots / drinks etc, after a few weeks I started getting massive headaches, stopped drinking them, no more headaches

[n_K]

Everyones different. I imported a few cans of cocaine years ago (the energy drink, not the drug) and had it along with some other people. Think the record one person had was 4 cans in one night and had to go to hospital a few days later due to urinating blood? None of our hearts messed up though.

Newsflash; if you're sensitive to caffeine, an energy drink, a cup of tea or a cup of coffee can set your heart problem off, it's not JUST some random energy drink.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-20151244

How many people do you know that get a reaction like that with ibrufin? Not many, though there are people in the world that do.

[texasghost]

Ummm...13 deaths in 4 years?

Ummm....there are people dying of natural causes 10 times more than what this stuff is doing.

[Royalty]

I knew that crap wasn't good for you. Can't people just freakin wake up early and eat some healthy breakfast?

[ArialBlue]

I call energy drinks Jesus Juice because they will get ya to see your maker

[Twiddle]

There is nothing wrong with energy drinks, or 5-hour energy... If you are not using them every single day. Maybe once, rarely twice a year I will buy a 5-hour energy, when I really, really need it.

But most people take these things daily, and all I have to say is "What did you think would happen?"

[Obi-Wan Kenobi]

Glad i dont go near any energy drinks!

I heard that! I have enough energy I can't get rid of...but my little brother insists on these things. I keep telling him that they are not good for you, but it works about like talking to a pet rock....can't get it through his thick skull. I've tried them, but they make me feel too weird.

[Ice_Blue]

Anything in excess can kill you. From water to your favourite burger.

[Obi-Wan Kenobi]

Anything in excess can kill you. From water to your favourite burger.

This I know....he drinks at least 6 of these from 1:00pm to 11~12:00am. I'm worried about him! Yet angry at the same time, because I've tried to tell him. (Not mad at you, bro...but at his stubborn ways) I love the little fella, don't want anything else to happen that's bad to my family, you know?

[dead.cell]

Anything in excess can kill you. From water to your favourite burger.

Agreed. Seriously, I'd like to know the details in these situations myself. I've taken 5-hour energy before, and have never felt jittery or like a steaming pile of crap (like what Starbucks does to me). Stuff works pretty much exactly as advertised, including the duration.

The last place I worked, I saw this one dumb girl abusing the **** out of them though. We'd make runs to the Walgreen's next door, and she'd ask us to get her 4, ...2 for the morning, 2 after lunch. We only got her one though, which didn't do much as she just got angry and went to get them herself.

So yeah, I do see how things like this could potentially happen. People do dumb things, thinking they're invincible and crap. I personally think they get what they deserve but hey, that's just me.

[Growled Member]

Wow, this is a shock. :laugh:

[Cute James]

I went through a phase of drinking energy shots / drinks etc, after a few weeks I started getting massive headaches, stopped drinking them, no more headaches

Congrats!

[Hum]

I can just see a bunch of teen girls, guzzling energy drinks, when they become pregnant.

Ummm...13 deaths in 4 years?

Ummm....there are people dying of natural causes 10 times more than what this stuff is doing.

This just in ... 100% drank water before dying.

[Growled Member]

This just in ... 100% drank water before dying.

Quick, let's ban water before anyone else dies. :p

[Shane Nokes]

Correlation? Folks who are using these to prop themselves up usually have other poor dietary and life habits.

Those probably contributed far more than the caffeine.

Hell if caffeine alone were enough to kill you I'd probably be dead several times over now. I can't count the number of nights where I made my way through about a gallon of Mountain Dew while working on a project.