Ever wondered what would happen if you swapped water for Redbull? One man did so you won’t have to.
First spotted by Gizmodo, a recently released case study details the startling health issues of a man in his 50s who drank eight energy drinks a day. Described as “normally fit and well,” the man suddenly had a stroke after consuming an average of 1280mg of caffeine a day, or over three times the healthy limit.
According to the report, the man first noticed the side effects when the left side of his body went numb. He registered an astonishing blood pressure of 254/150, well above the threshold for “hypertensive crisis,” which is 180/120, Giz notes.
After his first three-day visit to the hospital, lingering numbness and continuing high-blood pressure ended up getting him readmitted. It wasn’t until a complete examination of his lifestyle with his doctors that anyone thought to ask about his caffeine intake, which was soon identified as the soul cause of his stroke.
“We attribute this patient’s stroke to the effects of his energy drink consumption because through thorough investigations using multiple diagnostic methods we ruled out any other identifiable cause,” the doctors wrote.
After going a week without any energy drinks, doctors said his blood pressure began returning to normal. After getting off the juice for good, the man has made a “complete recovery,” though he does still have some lasting numbness on his left side.
“I obviously wasn’t aware of the dangers drinking energy drinks were causing to myself, [I] have been left with numbness [in my] left hand side hand and fingers, foot and toes even after eight years,” the man said in the report.
It’s a pretty grim warning for anyone who habitually downs the high-voltage brews: you may enjoy the buzz, but your body might not.
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