Dr. Denis Fortier, Associate Vice President of Medical Services for Southern Health says he is concerned about the amount of caffeine contained in 5 Hour Energy drinks and how they are being used.

Recently, Health Canada has received 86 reports reports of adverse reactions to energy at the same time US regulators are investigating 13 deaths believed to be related to the consumption of energy shots.  Fortier says the southeast is not without its own energy drink-related health problems.

"I have certainly seen some of our youth come into our emergency room in full blown panic attacks thinking they are dying, and it is almost certainly related to energy drinks."

He adds taking high amounts of caffeine can trigger anxiety attacks in anyone, regardless if they deal with anxiety or not.  He notes taking high amounts of caffeine causes your heart to race, and for people who have a heart condition it could cause heart rhythm abnormalities and chest pain.  Fortier attests there is a simple solution to avoiding the situation.

"If it were up to me, people would be discarding them into the garbage because there is no good reason to be taking that amount of caffeine.  I think most of us in health care would say if you're tired, you need to sleep rather than give yourself extra shots of caffeine."

He also advises drinking coffee instead of energy drinks if necessary.


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