Study hints at a link between artificially sweetened drinks and irregular heart beat

Imagine sipping your favorite fizzy drinks or drinking a glass of juice without realizing that this common pleasure may be related to an increased risk of atrial fibrillation (AFib).

The American Heart Association backed a recent study that indicated that both sugary as well as artificially sweetened drinks can increase consumers' risk of irregular heartbeat, also known as atrial fibrillation, or "AFib," by up to 20%.

The disease can increase the likelihood of stroke by five times. Between 2006 and 2010, a team of scientists analyzed data from 201,856 adults.

When the individuals entered the trial, they were each free of AFib, but by the conclusion of the ten-year follow-up period, which ended in 2020, there had been 9,362 occurrences of AFib.

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Link between artificially sweetened drinks and irregular heartbeat

Drinks with added sugar or sweeteners are loved but pack extra calories. Too many can lead to health issues.

Atrial fibrillation is a heart problem causing an uneve­n, speedy heartbe­at. Signs may be a racing heart, trouble bre­athing, chest aches, confusion, and exe­rcising becoming harder.

Cons of drinking Coke Zero (image sourced via Pexels / Photo by karolina)

While medicine and lifestyle modifications can help, if the illness is not treated, it may give rise to blood clots, strokes, and cardiac failure.

The findings emphasize the significance of moderation in our daily intake of sweetened beverages.

The American Heart Association recommends limiting the use of both sugar-sweetened along with artificially sweetened beverages in order to potentially reduce health hazards.

Combatting irregular heartbeat (image sourced via Pexels / Photo by karolina)

Water appears as the greatest beverage option, reflecting time-tested advice for good hydration and wellness.

“Our study’s findings cannot definitively conclude that one beverage poses more health risk than another due to the complexity of our diets and because some people may drink more than one type of beverage,” stated lead author Dr. Ningjian Wang

“Based on these findings, we recommend that people reduce or even avoid artificially sweetened and sugar-sweetened beverages whenever possible,”

“We still need more research on these beverages to confirm these findings and to fully understand all the health consequences on heart disease and other health conditions,” said Kris-Etherton, who is also an American Heart Association nutrition committee member.

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The researchers concluded that the results do not indicate that sweetened drinks affect AFiB risk, but instead that their use could foresee AF risk in addition to traditional risk variables.

Despite the fact that the researchers attempted to account for a variety of factors, there is a considerable possibility that other behavioral characteristics associated with alcohol consumption may be more important as a cause of AF than the beverages themselves.