Fit and healthy teen dies of heart attack after drinking energy drinks before exercise
In March, Zach Doran, an 18-year-old healthy high school senior from Oklahoma, went to the gym to spar, as he had done countless times before.
At some point during his session, the MMA fighter suffered a heart attack and attempts to revive him at the gym were unsuccessful.
He was put on a ventilator. Ten days later he died.
Zach’s girlfriend, Libby Gilmore, has since revealed what she believes caused the healthy young man’s shocking accident: energy drinks.
Zach Doran, 18, was passionate about mixed martial arts and also played on his high school football team. He died on March 13 while on life support, his girlfriend shared in a Facebook post
Ms Gilmore said her late friend had a habit of consuming both pre-workout (a stimulant powder added to water to provide a boost before exercise) and energy drinks before going to the gym.
βHe was the healthiest person I have ever known and I can say with certainty that of most of the people he was around, he was also the healthiest person,β Gilmore said in a Facebook post in June.
She added: ‘Because he was so healthy and fit, I never really thought about it. Even though I knew how dangerous energy drinks were and that they could cause heart problems, I never thought Zach would ever get involved in this.’
Energy drinks generally contain caffeine, sugar, and other stimulants such as taurine.
In 2011, nearly 1,500 teens went to the emergency room for ailments caused by energy drinks, including dehydration, anxiety and heart complications. According to the CDC.
It is unclear which brand of energy drink Mr. Doran preferred. Health organizations warn against drinking more than 400 mg caffeine per day.
That’s like drinking more than two Celsius, four and a half Monsters, or four Red Bulls.
Pre workout is a collective name for powders, pills or drinks that you take before a workout. They usually contain caffeine, beta-alanine, creatine, sugar, nitric oxide and vitamin B.
According to the Cleveland ClinicTThese ingredients have a stimulating effect and act as fuel for the muscles, which would help with recovery and energy.
Some brands of pre-workouts contain a lot of these ingredients. They contain between 150mg and 300mg of caffeine on average.
There aren’t many reports of pre-workout products causing heart problems, but the National Capital Region Poison Control Centerr wrote that they can cause heart attacks.
Both energy drinks and pre-workouts can therefore alter the functioning of your heart cells, which can lead to an irregular or rapid heartbeat and high blood pressure. according to UC Davis HealthThis may increase the risk of developing heart disease.
In general, consuming the recommended serving size of both products should not be harmful. However, using them in combination, or more than the recommended serving size, increases the chance of serious side effects.
It can also worsen underlying heart problems that a person is not aware of, such as heart rhythm problems.
β(E)f I want to show how harmful these drinks and ingredients can be, and that should not be underestimated,β Gilmore said.
Zach’s father, Jason Doran, a football coach, responded to Gilmore’s post, saying they don’t know if energy drinks caused their son’s heart attack.
“Just to make a couple of things very clear. First of all, we don’t know exactly what caused Zach’s heart attack. I’m sure pre-workout and energy drinks didn’t help, but we don’t have an exact answer,” Mr. Doran said.
Jason and Tami Doran kneel before Zach’s casket during his funeral
He then took the opportunity to raise awareness about how to properly perform CPR, highlighting the family’s push to make automated external defibrillators (AEDs) standard in every gym in the state.
AEDs are portable devices that can provide life-saving care in the event of cardiac arrest. They use an electrical pulse to restore the heartbeat.
Every minute that normal heart rate is not restored increases the risk of dying from a heart attack by seven to 10 percent, according to the American Heart Association.
Because Zach died while on a ventilator, he was able to donate seven of his organs to people in need.
Seven was also his number on the soccer team, and his family has said the number had great significance to the young man as a symbol of Christianity. He is remembered by countless people in the community, his father said.
Mr. Doran told Fox25 that his son: ‘has impacted my life. He taught me how to be a better coach, he taught me how to be a better father, he taught me how to treat people, how to accept love from other people, you’re just proud of him man.’