galeane29
04-25-2008, 02:27 PM
A night worker who drank four cans of Red Bull a day died of a heart attack that may have been caused by the energy drink, an inquest heard.
Alfredo Duran collapsed at the end of a nightshift at a supermarket, during which he regularly drank large quantities of Red Bull, advertised with the slogan 'It gives you wings'.
The amount of caffeine found in the 40-year-old's body – although not in itself fatal – could have brought on a card*iac arrest because he already had an enlarged heart, the inquest heard.
Pathologist Dr Ian Roberts said the fatal attack may have been 'triggered by levels which would have no effect on people with a normal heart'.
Bolivian-born Mr Duran, described by the coroner as healthy, collapsed in 2006 at the Asda supermarket in Wheatley, Oxfordshire, where he worked up to five night shifts a week.
Paramedics tried in vain to revive the father-of-two, from Oxford.
Colleagues said they usually found at least four empty cans of Red Bull on site when he had been working.
Recording a verdict of death by unascertained natural causes, Oxfordshire coroner Nicholas Gardiner compared his death to sudden adult death syndrome, a condition linked to cardiac illness.
Last year, Red Bull sold 3.5billion drinks in 140 countries.
One can contains about the same amount of caffeine as a cup of coffee.
It is banned in some countries because of fears it could cause high blood pressure.
The drink's maker denied it caused any harm – but recommen*ded that no more than two cans be drunk a day.
A Red Bull spokesman said clin*ical tests and toxicological evaluations by independent experts had concluded it was safe to drink for adults.
'No one has ever shown any link between Red Bull and harmful effects,' the spokesman added.
http://www.metro.co.uk/news/article.html?in_article_id=144543&in_page_id=34
Alfredo Duran collapsed at the end of a nightshift at a supermarket, during which he regularly drank large quantities of Red Bull, advertised with the slogan 'It gives you wings'.
The amount of caffeine found in the 40-year-old's body – although not in itself fatal – could have brought on a card*iac arrest because he already had an enlarged heart, the inquest heard.
Pathologist Dr Ian Roberts said the fatal attack may have been 'triggered by levels which would have no effect on people with a normal heart'.
Bolivian-born Mr Duran, described by the coroner as healthy, collapsed in 2006 at the Asda supermarket in Wheatley, Oxfordshire, where he worked up to five night shifts a week.
Paramedics tried in vain to revive the father-of-two, from Oxford.
Colleagues said they usually found at least four empty cans of Red Bull on site when he had been working.
Recording a verdict of death by unascertained natural causes, Oxfordshire coroner Nicholas Gardiner compared his death to sudden adult death syndrome, a condition linked to cardiac illness.
Last year, Red Bull sold 3.5billion drinks in 140 countries.
One can contains about the same amount of caffeine as a cup of coffee.
It is banned in some countries because of fears it could cause high blood pressure.
The drink's maker denied it caused any harm – but recommen*ded that no more than two cans be drunk a day.
A Red Bull spokesman said clin*ical tests and toxicological evaluations by independent experts had concluded it was safe to drink for adults.
'No one has ever shown any link between Red Bull and harmful effects,' the spokesman added.
http://www.metro.co.uk/news/article.html?in_article_id=144543&in_page_id=34